Davis v. Inhabitants of Longmeadow
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort, to recover damages for the death of a horse, caused by an alleged defect in a highway in the defendant town. At the trial in the Superior Court, before Lilley, J., there was evidence tending to show that the horse at the time of the accident, which occurred on April 17, 1896, was in good condition, and was attached with his mate to a loaded wagon ; that at a point in the highway on Old Clay Hill, so called, there was a mud place, consisting of a thick clay mud,…
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Tort, to recover damages for the death of a horse, caused by an alleged defect in a highway in the defendant town. At the trial in the Superior Court, before Lilley, J., there was evidence tending to show that the horse at the time of the accident, which occurred on April 17, 1896, was in good condition, and was attached with his mate to a loaded wagon ; that at a point in the highway on Old Clay Hill, so called, there was a mud place, consisting of a thick clay mud, extending about two rods and the full width of the travelled part of the highway, which was in that place about twenty-five…
1Opinion of the CourtAllen, J.
It has often been held that cities and towns are responsible only for the direct and immediate loss occasioned by a defective highway. Raymond v. Haverhill, 168 Mass. 382. *553Jenks v. Wilbraham, 11 Gray, 142. Marble v. Worcester, 4 Gray, 395. The question in this case is, whether the death of the plaintiff’s horse was a consequence sufficiently direct and immediate to enable the plaintiff to recover, assuming that the way was defective, and that the person in charge of the horse was in the exercise of due care throughout the whole occurrence. Upon the facts reported, we think the plaintiff was…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Raymond v. City of HaverhillMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1897
- City of Chicago v. SchmidtIllinois Supreme Court · 1883
- Stickney v. Town of MaidstoneSupreme Court of Vermont · 1858
3Cited by2 opinions
- Miller v. Boston & Northern Street Railway Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1908
- Whalen v. City of BostonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1939