Hulett v. . Swift
New York Court of Appeals
Appeal from the Supreme Court. The action was for the value of property committed by .a guest to the charge of the defendant’s testator, an innkeeper in Poughkeepsie, and lost by a fire, which destroyed the barn and stable attached to the inn, on the 26th of July, 1860. The facts, as admitted by the pleadings and found by the . referee, were substantially these: One Banks, an employee of the plaintiffs, stopped at the Balding House, in Poughkeepsie, with his own horses and…
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Appeal from the Supreme Court. The action was for the value of property committed by .a guest to the charge of the defendant’s testator, an innkeeper in Poughkeepsie, and lost by a fire, which destroyed the barn and stable attached to the inn, on the 26th of July, 1860. The facts, as admitted by the pleadings and found by the . referee, were substantially these: One Banks, an employee of the plaintiffs, stopped at the Balding House, in Poughkeepsie, with his own horses and wagon, and a load of buckskin goods belonging to the plaintiffs. He was received as a guest, and the innkeeper took…
1Opinion of the CourtPostee, J.
An innkeeper is responsible for the safe keeping of property committed to his custody by a guest. He is an insurer against loss, unless caused by the negligence or fraud of the guest, or by the act of God or the public enemy. This liability is recognized in the common law as existing by the ancient custom of the realm; and the judges in Oalyé’s case treated the recitals in the special writ for its enforcement, as controlling evidence of the nature and extent of the obligation imposed by law on the innkeeper. (8 Coke, 32; 1 Smith’s Lead.- Gas., Hare & Wallace’s ed., 194, 307.).This custom,…
2Cases cited7 opinions
- Piper v. MannyNew York Supreme Court · 1839
- Purvis v. . Coleman StetsonNew York Court of Appeals · 1860
- Clute v. WigginsNew York Supreme Court · 1817
- Gile v. LibbyNew York Supreme Court · 1861
- Merritt v. ClaghornSupreme Court of Vermont · 1851
2 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by45 opinions
- De Wolf v. . FordNew York Court of Appeals · 1908
- Goncalves v. Regent International Hotels, Ltd.New York Court of Appeals · 1983
- Pinkerton v. WoodwardCalifornia Supreme Court · 1867
- Zaldin v. Concord HotelNew York Court of Appeals · 1979
- Millhiser v. Beau Site Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1929
40 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.