O'Donnell v. . City of Syracuse
New York Court of Appeals
Appeal from a judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the fourth judicial department, entered March 10, 1905, affirming a judgment in favor of ¡ilaintifE entered upon the report of a referee.
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Appeal from a judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the fourth judicial department, entered March 10, 1905, affirming a judgment in favor of ¡ilaintifE entered upon the report of a referee. The plaintiff recovered a judgment against the defendant for damages resulting to her property from an overflow of Onondaga creek, upon her allegations' that the • occurrence was chargeable to the neglect of the defendant to perform its duties, either assumed, or devolved upon it by law, with respect to the proper care and maintenance of the channel of the stream. The action came on…
1Opinion of the CourtGray, J.
The theory of the defendant’s responsibility, maintained by the learned referee in an opinion, was that, by practically taking possession of Onondaga creek for its municipal purpose, it had “converted a natural watercourse into a public sewer ” and its duty was “ the same as if the sewer was originally artificial.” Hence, it was “bound to maintain it in a reasonably safe and efficient condition ” and having failed to perform this duty, the failure was an efficient cause of the injury to the plaintiff’s property. At the Appellate Division, this theory of liability was concurred in. It was…
2Cases cited11 opinions
- Radcliff's Executors v. . Mayor, C. of BrooklynNew York Court of Appeals · 1850
- Conrad v. . the Trustees of the Village of IthacaNew York Court of Appeals · 1857
- Mills v. . City of BrooklynNew York Court of Appeals · 1865
- Seifert v. . City of BrooklynNew York Court of Appeals · 1886
- Chipman v. . PalmerNew York Court of Appeals · 1879
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3Cited by41 opinions
- Archer v. City of Los AngelesCalifornia Supreme Court · 1941
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- Biernacki v. Village of RavenaAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1997
- Sehy v. Salt Lake CityUtah Supreme Court · 1912
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