McCann v. City of Waltham

This is an action for personal injuries caused by the fall of a bank upon the plaintiff while- he was digging under it. He seeks to charge the defendant, under St. 1887, c. 270, on the ground of the negligence of the assistant superintendent of streets. We assume that the statute applies to cities, but it does not change the law of agency. See Pettingell v. Chelsea, 161 Mass. 368. Therefore the plaintiff cannot re*345cover, even if in other respects he has made out a case, if the superintendent of streets was a public officer, as that phrase has been used in the cases, and was acting as such at…