McCauley v. Logan

Citations

• 152 Pa. 202
• 25 A. 499
• 1893 Pa. LEXIS 959

Syllabus

<p>[Marked to be reported.]</p> <p>Negligence — Extraordinary accidents.</p> <p>One is responsible for such consequences of his fault as are natural and probable, but if his fault happens to concur with something extraordinary, and therefore not likely to be foreseen, he will not be answerable for the unexpected result.</p> <p>Extraordinary flood in river — Breaking loose of boats.</p> <p>Plaintiffs, bridge builders, erected false works in a river in the course of the erection of a bridge. Defendant, a lumber merchant, had a lumber yard twenty miles up the river from plaintiffs’ false works. On the night of an extraordinary flood two boats belonging to defendant were tied to the bank a short distance above his yard, and during the night the outside one became detached, floated down the river and injured plaintiffs’ works. There was no evidence that defendant had any knowledge of the existence of plaintiffs’ works. The testimony on both sides showed that the river was only at an ordinary stage during the day preceding the accident, and that it had not been raining in the vicinity. The river rose, between nine o’clock in the evening and live o’clock in the morning, from eight to twelve feet, and all the witnesses testified that this was an unusual and extraordinary rise. The evidence showed that one lashing was sufficient to hold the boat in an ordinary stage of the water or in a very slight rise, but it appeared that the two boats were tied together by four lashings, and that the outer boat held its place until the flood was near its highest. Held, that plaintiffs were not entitled to recover and that the case should have been taken from the jury.</p>