City of Navasota v. Pearce

Citations

• 46 Tex. 525

Syllabus

<p>1. Damages—Streets—Municipal corporations.—No action for damage can be maintained against a municipal corporation, such as a town or city, to which the “exclusive control and power over its streets, alleys, and public grounds and highways ” is given by its charter, by a party who has suffered an injury occasioned through want of repair of its streets.</p> <p>2. It is universally admitted that an individual action, unless authorized by statute, cannot be maintained against counties, parishes, or commissioners of highways, for damages sustained through their neglect to keep their bridges and highways in repair, although the duty of doing so is clearly enjoined upon them by law, and they have authority to collect taxes, and make adequate assessments to that end. The establishing and maintaining a highway is a matter of State duty, and whether its discharge is intrusted to the county, street commissioners, or a municipal corporation, by its charter, is immaterial; the right to recover damage for injury sustained by the neglect of duty by either, in keeping a highway in repair, does not exist.</p> <p>3. But where the privileges given in a charter, are granted either upon an express or implied condition of corporate responsibility to individuals who suffer damage through the neglect of their performance of duty, or when the charter .confers some franchise or privilege, from which profit may be made, apart from its govermental powers, and which might have been granted to a private corporation or an individual, an action may be maintained for damage sustained from a breach of such condition, or through the negligent or improper exercise of the rights conferred by such franchise.</p> <p>4. Same.—Plaintiff sued for damages, for the loss of his horse and injury to his buggy, occasioned by the negligence of the cit3 of Havasota in keeping its streets in repair. The horse fell in harness, rolled into a ditch, was killed in the affair, and the buggy broken: Held, That no actio