City & Suburban Railway Co. v. Moores

Citations

• 80 Md. 348
• 30 A. 643
• 1894 Md. LEXIS 117

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Independent Contractor — Tmnpike Company — Nuisance per se.</p> <p>Where work is being done by an independent contractor, and an injury to a third person is occasioned by the negligence of his servants, yet the person for whom the work is done may be liable, if the injury is such as might have been anticipated by him as the probable consequence of the work let out to the contractor, or if it be of such a character as must result in creating a nuisance, or if he owes a duty to third persons or the public in the execution of the work.</p> <p>The use of a steam engine on a turnpike road for hauling material to be used in repairs, is not such a nuisance per se as would make the Turnpike Company liable to third parties for the negligence of the servants of an independent contractor, having exclusive control of the engine and the work.</p> <p>W. was employed by a Turnpike Company to grade the roadbed, etc., and also to construct the tracks of the defendant, an Electric Railway Company, on the road. Plaintiff sued the defendant to recover damages for an injury alleged to have been caused by the negligent use of an engine under the control of W. on the tracks of the defendant. Held,</p> <p>ist. That W. was an independent contractor with the Turnpike Company, and the defendant was a party to the contract, if it be found as a fact, that the work was done for it.</p> <p>2nd. That the use of a steam engine in doing the work under the contracts was not a nuisance per se, and neither the Turnpike Company nor the defendant was liable for the negligence of the servants of W., the independent contractor, provided W. employed competent men to do the’work, and they were under his exclusive control.</p> <p>3rd. That if the defendant company was not a party to the contracts between W. and the Turnpike Company, the mere fact that it owned the tracks on which the engine was run would not render it liable to the plaintiff.</p>