Baily v. City of Philadelphia
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Appeal, No. 448, Jan. T., 1897, by plaintiffs, from decree of C. P. No. 4, Pbila. County, Nov. 80, 1897, No. 700, refusing preliminary injunction. Bill in equity to declare illegal and void a lease of the Philadelphia Gas Works.
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Appeal, No. 448, Jan. T., 1897, by plaintiffs, from decree of C. P. No. 4, Pbila. County, Nov. 80, 1897, No. 700, refusing preliminary injunction. Bill in equity to declare illegal and void a lease of the Philadelphia Gas Works. The bill sets forth that the plaintiffs are residents of the city of Philadelphia, owners of real and personal property situated therein, are payers of state and city taxes, and are consumers of gas in said city; and also that one of their number, to wit: John M. Campbell, is the holder and owner of a certificate of loan of the city of Philadelphia, issued for the…
1Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Mb. Justice Mitchell,
The gas works are the property of the city of Philadelphia, not as a municipality, but as a business corporation. However much the idea that the city is not required by its municipal duty to supply its citizens with light in the streets and public places, may seem to fall below the modern conception of a city, it is beyond question on settled legal principles, that in the performance of that function the city acts under authority merely and not under municipal obligation. This was the rule of the common law, and no statute in reference to the city of…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Wheeler v. PhiladelphiaSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1875
- Western Saving Fund Society v. City of PhiladelphiaSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1858
- Commonwealth ex rel. Graham v. DeCampSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1896
- Western Saving Fund Society v. City of PhiladelphiaSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1858
3Cited by27 opinions
- Jackson v. Metropolitan Edison Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1974
- City of Louisville v. ParsonsCourt of Appeals of Kentucky · 1912
- Green v. City of Rock HillSupreme Court of South Carolina · 1929
- Williams v. SamuelSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1938
- Eau Claire Dells Improvement Co. v. City of Eau ClaireWisconsin Supreme Court · 1920
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