Magner v. Frankford Baptist Church

Citations

• 174 Pa. 84
• 34 A. 456
• 1896 Pa. LEXIS 850

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Trespasser—Inclosure of land.</p> <p>A landowner is under no duty to a trespasser who comes from a street across other land and passes over the owner’s land to a possible danger on the land of a stranger.</p> <p>A church owned two lots in Frankford, one fronting on Church street and the other on Penn street, which streets were at right angles to each other. The title to the intervening land fronting on both streets was not shown. The Church street lot was inclosed from the street by a stone wall ten feet high, and the Penn street lot by a retaining wall four feet high above which was a sloping embankment of earth of the height of three or four feet. It appeared that at one time there had been a gateway with steps leading from Penn street to the intervening land not owned by the church. The steps had decayed and been removed, but a person could get on the land by climbing up a steep embankment ten or twelve feet high. The church lot fronting on Penn street extended back towards a quarry, but its rear line was forty-five feet from the quarry. The Church street lot owned by the church adjoined the quarry which was on the land of another. A child seven years of age was allowed to go upon the street unattended, and went upon the land through the old gateway, and crossed the lot belonging to the church, and fell into the quarry on the land beyond. Held (1), that the church in securely inclosing its land from the street had done more than the law required; (2) that it was under no duty to a trespasser who might come from the street, across the land of another, and pass over its land to a possible danger on the land of a stranger; (3) that a nonsuit was properly entered in a suit brought against the church to recover damages for the injuries to the child.</p>