Commissioners of Highways v. Martin
Michigan Supreme Court
This was an action on the case brought against'the Commissioners of Highways of the Township of Niles, as a qxiasi Corporation, under the provisions of Chapter 119, of the Revised Statutes, to recover damages for injuries which the .plaintiff alleged he had sustained, by reason of the non-repair of a certain bridge, part of a public highway, in that township.
Read the full summary
This was an action on the case brought against'the Commissioners of Highways of the Township of Niles, as a qxiasi Corporation, under the provisions of Chapter 119, of the Revised Statutes, to recover damages for injuries which the .plaintiff alleged he had sustained, by reason of the non-repair of a certain bridge, part of a public highway, in that township. It was, in effect, a suit against the township; for by section seven of the chapter referred to, it is provided, that if the plaintiff recovers judgment in such a case, no execution shall be awarded thereon, but that the same shall be…
1Opinion of the Court
-By the Court,
Douglass, J.
In England the liability to beep highways in repair, is of common -right incumbent in general upon the parishes in which they respectively lie, but in some cases; it attaches (by prescription) to particular townships or other divisions of parishes, and occasionally to private individuals or Corporations, bound ratione tmurcB, or in right of their estates or franchises, to repair some particular highway. The case of bridges is differently provided for. The expense of maintaining these is incumbent, not on the parishes, but on the counties at large in which the bridges…
2Cases cited7 opinions
- Mower v. Inhabitants of LeicesterMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1812
- Smoot v. Mayor of WetumpkaSupreme Court of Alabama · 1854
- Cadwell v. StateSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1846
- Hutson v. Mayor of New YorkThe Superior Court of New York City · 1851
- Palmer v. VandenberghNew York Supreme Court · 1829
2 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by33 opinions
- Hill v. City of BostonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1877
- Williams v. City of DetroitMichigan Supreme Court · 1961
- Hollenbeck v. County of WinnebagoIllinois Supreme Court · 1880
- Fordyce v. Woman's Christian National Library Ass'nSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1906
- Board of Commissioners v. AllmanIndiana Supreme Court · 1895
28 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.