Esberg Cigar Co. v. City of Portland
Oregon Supreme Court
Prom Multnomah : Alfred Sears Jr., Judge. This is an action by the Esberg-Gunst Cigar Company against the City of Portland, to recover damages for an injury to plaintiff’s goods, caused by the bursting of an alleged negligently defective water main belonging to the defendant city, and the consequent flooding of the cellar in which such goods were stored.
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Prom Multnomah : Alfred Sears Jr., Judge. This is an action by the Esberg-Gunst Cigar Company against the City of Portland, to recover damages for an injury to plaintiff’s goods, caused by the bursting of an alleged negligently defective water main belonging to the defendant city, and the consequent flooding of the cellar in which such goods were stored. In 1885 the charter of the City of Portland was amended by adding thereto an additional chapter (Laws, 1885, p. 97), by which the city was authorized and empowered to construct, or purchase, keep, conduct, and maintain water works therein of…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Bean
In support of the judgment it is contended: First, that the water works belong to the city in its public or governmental capacity, and it is therefore not liable to a common-law action for negligence in constructing or maintaining the same; second, that The Water Committee, under whose direction and control they were constructed, and were being maintained at the time of the accident, is an independent body, appointed by the state for public governmental purposes, over which the city has no control, and for whose negligence it is not liable under the common-law doctrine of respondeat superior;…
2Cases cited35 opinions
- Hill v. City of BostonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1877
- Maxmilian v. . MayorNew York Court of Appeals · 1875
- Ehrgott v. . Mayor, Etc., of City of N.Y.New York Court of Appeals · 1884
- Barnes v. District of ColumbiaSupreme Court of the United States · 1876
- Mayor of New-York v. BaileyNew York Supreme Court · 1845
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3Cited by75 opinions
- George Foltis, Inc. v. City of New YorkNew York Court of Appeals · 1941
- Roberts v. Sewerage and Water Bd.Supreme Court of Louisiana · 1994
- City of S. Pasadena v. Pasadena Land & Water Co.California Supreme Court · 1908
- City of Fairbanks v. SchaibleAlaska Supreme Court · 1962
- Juchert v. California Water Service Co.California Supreme Court · 1940
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