Sanford v. Union Passenger Railway Co.

Citations

• 16 Pa. Super. 393
• 1901 Pa. Super. LEXIS 84

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Street railways — Repair of streets.</p> <p>Where a street railway company’s obligation to a city is “to keep and maintain in good order at all times,” under the direction of the city officials, the streets which in the judgment of the said officials are in need of repair, the liability of the railway company to persons injured by defects in the street is no higher or greater than that which the law imposes upon the municipality itself.</p> <p>The duty of the municipality is to keep its streets in safe condition at all times, but its liability to persons injured on account of the neglect or omission of this duty is always conditional upon, first, a positive misfeasance in doing acts which cause the street to be out of repair, in which case no other notice to the corporation of the condition of the street is essential to its liability, (because the municipality has all the knowledge of the facts which a notice would give) or, second, the neglect of the corporation to put the streets in repair, or remove obstructions therefrom, or remedy causes of danger occasioned by wrongful acts of third parties, in which cases notice of the condition of the streets, or what is equivalent to notice, is necessary.</p> <p>In an action against a street railway company to recover damages for the death of a horse, it appeared that the railway company had obligated itself to keep and maintain the streets which it occupied in good order at all times after notice of defects from the city. At the time of the accident plaintiff was driving a horse and wagon along the tracks of the defendant company, the horse walking between the rails and the wheels of the wagon being upon them. While proceeding in this way the horse suddenly walked into a hole which was about one square foot in surface measurement, and about four feet in depth, and sank to the belly, which caused its death. It did not appear what was the cause of the founderous condition of the street, nor was it clearly sho