Berry v. City of Sedalia

212 S.W. 34, 201 Mo. App. 436, 1919 Mo. App. LEXIS 61
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedApril 7, 1919
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 212 S.W. 34 (Berry v. City of Sedalia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Berry v. City of Sedalia, 212 S.W. 34, 201 Mo. App. 436, 1919 Mo. App. LEXIS 61 (kanctapp 1919).

Opinion

BLAND, J.

— This is a suit for personal injuries. Plaintiff having" recovered a verdict and judgment in the sum of seven hundred and fifty dollars, defendant has appealed. The facts show that plaintiff, a woman seventy-one years of age, was crossing Third street in Sedalia, Missouri, from north to south on the west side of Ohio Avenue. She crossed that portion of the street used by pedestrians generally for crossing. She reached a point near the south curb line of Third Street when she discovered her daughter in the rear. Thereupon plaintiff started hack north reaching a point about six or seven feet from the north curb line of Third Street when she slipped and fell, sustaining the injuries sued for.

As grounds of negligence the petition alleged that “The paving aforesaid on and near the west side of said Ohio Avenue and across said Third street was on the 2nd day of September, 1916, in a dangerous and defective condition, in that the bricks of said pavement were as originally put in and by wear thereafter and by reason of their slope so smooth and slippery as to render them dangerous to persons traveling upon them either on foot, on horseback or in vehicles.” One of the defenses pleaded was that the street at the point of the accident was construed with a slope from the center to the gutter for the purpose of having the water drain from the center of thé street to each side thereof; that the paving of the street “with the crown or center higher than the sides is the proper and customary way of making and constructing brick pavements, and was made in accordance with the plan adopted by the City Council of Sedalia, Missouri, for paving said street. ’ ’

The evidence shows that the street at the point of the accident was constructed, as alleged in the answer, [438]*438with the crown or center higher than the sides and with a gradual slope toward the curbs. The material used in the pavement was vitrified brick which had been laid some years before the accident. The only defect in the pavement was that it had been originally constructed extremely smooth and slippery or had become so by constant wear. There was a one-way street car track in the center of the street, composed of two rails. From the north rail of the track to the curb was thirteen feet. Between these two points there was a fall of twelve inches. This crossing on Ohio Avenue was the most traveled point of any street of the city of Sedalia. The testimony was that the point where plaintiff fell was very slick; a witness saying. “I don’t know how I can qualify “very.” It was very much slicker than the rest of the street west of where plaintiff fell. One witness testified, “It had been gradually getting slicker all the time. I expect thousands of people go over that street every day, and it is just the constant wear — the result of constant wear; there are no people walking over the other part of the street except that; there is no other part of the street used so very much.” Many persons had slipped and fafien at the same place previously, and there was evidence that “it was a very common occurrence— ... to see somebody fall on that street there.” One witness testified that he, himself had slipped and fallen at the same place. Sometimes after the accident the city placed a coating of asphalt over the crossing.

Defendant urges that its demurrer to the evidence should have been sustained, defendant claiming that cities are under the duty to construct their pavements and sidewalks to present a smooth and even surface and that they are not liable for injury to persons slipping thereon. It may be conceded that cities should construct and maintain smooth and even surfaced streets and sidewalks but this does not authorize such cities to construct or permit the surface of their much used streets and sidewalks to become so slick as to be dangerous to persons using the same. The evidence in this [439]*439case shows that the place where plaintiff fell was so extremely slick as to be highly dangerous to pedestrians, and we think there is no question but that the city was liable for maintaining its street in such condition under the circumstances. [Cromarty v. City of Boston, 127 Mass. 329; O’Brien v. St. Paul, 116 Minn. 249; Lyon v. City, 35 N. E. 128 (Ind. App.).]

Defendant makes the point that its demurrer to the evidence should have been sustained for the reason that defendant elaims that the petition fails to state a cause of action in that, as defendant says, the petition bases plaintiff’s right to recover upon the slope of the street and the condition of the pavement as originally put in under a general governmental plan; that the evidence likewise shows plaintiff was injured by reason of a defect in such a plan and that as the construction of the street with the crown or center higher than the gutter, was in accordance with this general plan of the city, the city is not liable.

Of course, it is well settled that the city has a right in its governmental capacity to adopt a general plan of street improvement and if the injury results from a danger inherent in the adopted plan the city is not liable, but it is equally established that if the danger has arisen from the negligent construction or maintenance of the plan, the city is liable. [Kirkhimer v. City of Sedalia, 200 S. W. 298; Gallagher v. Tipton, 133 Mo. App. 557; Ely v. St. Louis, 181 Mo. 723; Tippensee v. Jefferson City, 174 Mo. App. 727-729; Hays v. City, 159 Mo. App. 431; Nelson v. Kansas City, 170 Mo. App. 542.]

We do not construe the allegation of the petition as making the .slope of the street, for which defendant was not liable, a part of the alleged negligent acts of the defendant. The negligence alleged in the petition is that the bricks were originally put in in such a smooth and slippery condition as to ^render them dangerous and that they thereafter were by continued wear made smooth and slippery so as to render them dangerous; that such smoothness and slipperiness, both at the time [440]*440of the construction of the street and at the time of the injury, was dangerous on account of the slope existing in the street upon which the bricks were placed. While defendant would not be liable for planning the street so as to have a slope to the sides, yet when it constructed the pavement and thereafter maintained it, the city was under the duty in view of the condition present, that is, the slope, to see that the surface did not become so smooth and slippery as to render it dangerous to persons traveling upon the street.

Certainly, we cannot say as a matter of law that the evidence shows that plaintiff was injured by reason of the plan of the city in providing the slope in the street. There was no evidence that it was a plan of the city to construct or maintain a slick pavement such as to render the street dangerous to pedestrians. Defendant’s engineer testified that the slope of the street was constructed with reference to a general plan, but there was no evidence in the record that the general plan included a dangerously smooth surface and we cannot assume that as a part of the plan of constructing its streets the city in its governmental capacity intended a plan that included a paved surface dangerously slick to pedestrians. In fact, we may presume to the contrary.

Defendant complains that the court erred in giving plaintiff’s instruction No. 1.

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Bluebook (online)
212 S.W. 34, 201 Mo. App. 436, 1919 Mo. App. LEXIS 61, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/berry-v-city-of-sedalia-kanctapp-1919.