Spangler v. City of San Francisco

Citations

• 84 Cal. 12
• 23 P. 1091
• 1890 Cal. LEXIS 751

Syllabus

<p>Watercourse. — To constitute a watercourse, it is not necessary that the water shall run in the bed or channel of the stream all the year.</p> <p>Municipal Corporations — Liability for Defective Sewer — Flooding Private Premises — Watercourse— Surface Water.—A city is liable for damages caused from the flooding of private premises by reason of a defective sewer, or of the neglect of its officers to keep the sewer in repair after knowledge of its defective condition; and it is immaterial whether the water doing the damage comes from a natural watercourse turned into the sewer by the city authorities or from surface water flowing into the sewer. It is the duty of the city, when it does provide water-ways, to provide such as are sufficient to carry off the water that might be reasonably expected to accumulate.</p> <p>Id.— Negligence of City Authorities — Failure to Repair Sewer— Extraordinary Flooding — Contributory Negligence — House below Grade. — It does not relieve the city from liability for injury to private property caused by negligence of the city authorities in failing to keep the sewers in repair, after ample knowledge of their defective condition, because the precipitation of water which caused the injury was extraordinary and unusual, if the sewer was originally constructed of sufficient capacity to carry off all of the water which did fall, and it appears that in such construction the city authorities anticipated and provided against unusual floodings. The sewer being sufficient in capacity to carry all the water, the plaintiff had a right to assume that the city authorities would keep it in good repair, and was not bound to repair it himself, and was guilty of no negligence which would bar a recovery by building his house on a lot below grade and remaining therein.</p> <p>Id.—Flooding by Dam — Construction op Sewer — Negligence op Builders—Liability of City.—If the injury to plaintiff’s property was caused by a dam which diverted the water so as to flo