Home/Supreme Court of Iowa/Murphy Ex Rel. Murphy v. City of Waterloo

Murphy Ex Rel. Murphy v. City of Waterloo

123 N.W.2d 49, 255 Iowa 557, 1963 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 722
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedJuly 16, 1963
Docket51031
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 123 N.W.2d 49 (Murphy Ex Rel. Murphy v. City of Waterloo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Murphy Ex Rel. Murphy v. City of Waterloo, 123 N.W.2d 49, 255 Iowa 557, 1963 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 722 (iowa 1963).

Opinion

Peterson, J.

This is an action for damages against defendant-City. Vicki Murphy was a twelve-year-old girl in 1959. When standing on a sidewalk on Edwards Street in Waterloo she was violently pushed from the rear by a five-year-old boy. She was about 4 feet from Virden Creek, which was 9 feet deep at the point where it connects with the Waterloo storm sewer system. She was pushed into the creek; struck her head on some *560 cement blocks at the bottom of the creek, and sustained a concussion of her skull. The jury rendered verdict in her favor in the amount of $10,000, and rendered a verdict for her father for hospital and doctor bills paid by him in the amount of $736.80. Defendant appealed.

I. For many years a creek tunnel existed under Edwards Street in defendant-City. The tunnel crossed under the street at an angle, extended several feet south of the street and connected with said creek. A vertical wall had been built by the city on each side of the creek connecting with the southern end of the tunnel. The area between the sidewalk and the creek was even with the sidewalk and at the point where Vicki fell the creek was partially in the Murphy yard.

Although the City did not have title to this strip of land, or the land on which the tunnel extension and walls were constructed, it maintained and controlled the tunnel and creek walls. In 1947 and 1948 under the inspection, supervision and control of the City, the creek and its walls had all been repaired and rebuilt by defendant-City. Prior to such time there was a guardrail between the sidewalk and the drop-off, but it fell down when one of the walls collapsed in 1947 and was never put back when the walls were repaired and rebuilt by the City. At the time of the accident there was no fence nor barrier of any kind between the sidewalk or Murphy yard and the creek.

Vicki lived with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Murphy, on the south side of Edwards Street. A public grade school was located on Edwards Street about a block west of the Murphy home. Hundreds of small school children passed the spot every day. They were usually on the sidewalk, but they pushed over into the strip of land between the sidewalk and the creek so that it became worn bare and packed hard like a cement walk.

The following copies of exhibits present a visual view of the Murphy home, Edwards Street, and Virden Creek where it connects with the Waterloo storm sewer system.

Mrs. Murphy, as the only eyewitness, saw what happened through the middle window shown on defendant’s exhibit ‘1’. (See mark “x” on window.)

*561

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Bluebook (online)
123 N.W.2d 49, 255 Iowa 557, 1963 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 722, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/murphy-ex-rel-murphy-v-city-of-waterloo-iowa-1963.