Gonzalez v. City of Pensacola

Citations

• 65 Fla. 241
• 61 So. 503

Syllabus

<p>1. Where a municipality is authorized to grade its streets, such grading should be done without undue injury to private property, and should be done without negligence, unskillfulness or malice and with due regard to the rights of abutting owners and others.</p> <p>2. While a municipality is not liable in damages for consequential injuries to property abutting on a street resulting from a lawful grading of the public streets when due care is exercised in such grading, the municipality is liable in damages for its unlawful and negligent acts in grading streets that proximately and substantially injure persons or property.</p> <p>3. In an action against a municipal corporation for negligent injuries, the gist of the action is the negligence for which the corporation is liable; and it is essentia] to allege in the declaration ultimate facts showing the relation out of which arose the duty of the corporation to exercise appropriate care with reference to the rights of the plaintiff, and also the negligent act of omission or commission for which the corporation is responsible, that proximately caused the injury complained of, the specific ultimate fact that actually caused the injury being duly alleged so that a definite issue may be presented for trial.</p> <p>4. A declaration in which it is in effect alleged that a municipality negligently and recklessly caused the streets to be dug down and for months left in that condition before paving was done, whereby plaintiff’s abutting lands were washed away and injured before the paving was done, because of the premature negligent and reckless lowering of the grade of the street, states a cause of action for damages.</p>