Meyers v. Philadelphia

Citations

• 217 Pa. 159
• 66 A. 251
• 1907 Pa. LEXIS 676

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Municipalities—Obstruction in street — Property owner —Independent contractors.</p> <p>Property owners engaged in work on a city or borough street in front of their properties in obedience to the requirements of an ordinance are not contractors exercising an independent employment, over whom the municipal authorities have no control.</p> <p>A municipality may not be responsible for the negligence of an owner of property engaged in work on a street done on notice from it, where the negligence is in the manner of doing the work on the part of the street necessarily occupied for that purpose, but its duty to exercise reasonable supervision of streets thrown open for travel always continues.</p> <p>Where a city notifies a property owner to reset a curb and the owner enters into a contract with a curb-setter to do the work at a fixed price per foot, and the latter on finishing the work leaves a pile of old curbstones on the cartway, and these stones are allowed to remain in the street for four or five days when their presence causes the overturning of a cab, and the injury of its driver, the latter may maintain an action against the city to recover damages for his injuries.</p>