Robinson v. Mills

65 P. 114, 25 Mont. 391, 1901 Mont. LEXIS 53
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedJune 7, 1901
DocketNo. 1,271
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 65 P. 114 (Robinson v. Mills) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robinson v. Mills, 65 P. 114, 25 Mont. 391, 1901 Mont. LEXIS 53 (Mo. 1901).

Opinion

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE BRANTLY,

after stating the case, delivered the opinion of the Court.

1. When plaintiff had concluded the introduction of evidence, counsel for the defendant moved the court to direct a verdict in his favor on the ground that the complaint did not state a cause of action against him, for the reasons that the duty, if any, to remedy any defect in the street occasioned-by the excavation therein by the water company, was a duty owing to the city of Helena, and to no one else, and that there was no duty resting upon the defendant to remedy such defect. The court overruled the motion, and defendant assigns error.

Subsection 73 of Section 4800 of the Political Code provides: “The city or town council has power: To permit the use of streets and alleys of the city or town for the purpose of laying' down gas, water and other mains, but no excavation must be made for such purpose without the permission of the council, and the streets and alleys must be placed in as good condition by the person making the excavation as they were before the excavation was made, and the mains laid down, and in default thereof the council may order the same to be done at the expense of such person.”

The argument of counsel upon the first ground of motion is that under the statutes of Montana governing the organization of cities, and from which they derive their powers, exclusive, jurisdiction over and the right to control the streets and alleys rests with the city; that the council may, under the provision quoted, grant permission to a water company to make such excavations in the street as the nature of its business requires, but that the primary duty to- the public to properly fill such excavations and res (re the streets to' their former condition is cast in each instance upon the city, and not upon the corpora[396]*396tion acting under such permission or license. In other words, however much such a corporation may be g'uilty of neglig’emce and disregard of its obligation to the city under the license, it is not liable to the passenger upon the street for any injury resulting from such neglect of duty. If, therefore, a person injured has any recourse, it is against the city, which alone is liable, and the corporation which has caused the injury suffers no other penalty or liability than that of having the street restored at its expense. As conclusive of this contention, counsel cite among other cases: City of Rochester v. Campbell, 123 N. Y. 405, 25 N. E. 937; Taylor v. Railroad Co., 45 Mich. 74, 7 N. W. 728, 40 Am. Rep. 457; City of Keokuk v. Independent Dist, of Keokuk, 53 Iowa 352, 36 Am. Repts. 226, 5 N. W. 503; City of Hartford v. Talcott, 48 Conn 525, 40 Am. Rep. 189; Hill v. City of Fond du Lac, 56 Wis. 242, 14 N. W. 25; Kirby v. Boylston Market Association, 14 Gray 249, 74 Am. Dec. 682; City of St. Louis v. Connecticut Mut. Life Ins. Co., 107 Mo. 92, 28 Am. St. Rep. 402, 17 S. W. 637. In City of Rochester v. Campbell it appeal's that the charter of the city imposed upon the owners of lots the duty of keeping in repair the adjoining sidewalks, and to clear away therefrom all snow and ice or other obstructions. In case of default on part of the owner, the city authorities, after notice to’ him, could have the repairs or other work done at his expense. The sidewalk adjoining defendant’s premises had fallen into disrepair, and by reason of this condition a passenger was injured. The city, having been compelled to pay a judgment for damages, sought to fix liability upon the defendant for the amount so paid. It was held that the city could not recover. This conclusion was based upon the theory that the primary obligation to keep the streets in order rested with the city; that the obligation cast upon the abutting lot owner was subservient to that resting upon the city, to be performed or neglected, at the pleasure of the city authorities; and that it was inconsistent with this power of exclusive control in the city and its resultant primary duty to suppose a primary duty cast upon the [397]*397defendant also. The principle of this case is supported by the other cases cited, and by the current of authority, but it has no application here. Under the common law m> duty rested upon the lot owner to keep the adjoining streets or sidewalks 6 in repair. In every case where this duty is cast upon the owner it is by virtue of a provision of the charter or an ordinance of the city under its charter powers, and the liability arising from neglect is to the city, and not to the public. It is equally as well settled by the current of authority that one who creates or maintains a nuisance in a street is liable to a passenger who, being himself without negligence, is injured thereby. (2 Dill. Mun. Corp. Sec. 1032; City of Rochester v. Campbell, and other cases cited; Village of Port Jervis v. First Nat. Bank of Port Jervis 96 N. Y. 550; 15 Am. & Eng. Enc. Law (2d Ed.) 433; Webster v. City of Beaver Dam (C. C.) 84 Fed. 280; Toutloff v. City of Green Bay, 91 Wis. 490, 65 N. W. 168.) This principle was recognized by this court in Camion v. Leíais, 18 Mont. 402, 45 Pac. 572, where it Avas held that the defendant Avas liable for injuries to a passenger who fell into a cellar Avay of the defendant, left open in the sidewalk upon a street in the city of Butte. A clear distinction exists as to the relations of the parties to the public in the two cases, and their resultant duties are based upon Avholly different considerations.

An unauthorized excavation or other obstruction in a street is a public nuisance per se. None the less does one made by permission of the city, or under authority of a license or contract, become a nuisance, if it is left unguarded during the progress of the work, or if the street is not restored to its original condition when the purpose of the excavation has been accomplished. In the latter case the doing of a lawful thing in an unlawful way makes it a nuisance, in the same way as - if it Avere a nuisance in the beginning.

Under the section of the statute quoted, the city council had the power to- grant to the water company the right to lay its pipes and mains. This carried with it the obligation to keep [398]*398them in repair. Without permission thus granted by the city, every excavation in the street would have been a nuisance in the first instance, and the company would have been liable for any injury caused by it, without reference to the question of negligence. Acting under the permission granted, -it would become guilty of maintaining a public nuisance if it negligently left an opening unguarded, or if, at the end of the work, it left the street in such condition that it was then unsafe, or would become so by the operation of natural causes, — such as the effect of rains or frost upon the earth. The obligation assumed by the water company was, therefore, carefully to guard the work during its progress, and to restore the street when the work was ended, so far as human foresight could go, to as safe a condition as that in which it found it at the time the excavation was begun. In support of these views we cite: Drew v. River Co., 6 Car. &.P. 754; Johnson v. Friel, 50 N. Y. 679; Dillon v. Gaslight Co., 1 McArthur, 626; Southern Exp. Co. v. Texarkana Water Co., 54 Ark. 131, 15 S. W. 361; Reeves v. Larkin, 19 Mo. 192; McMahon v. Railroad Co., 75 N. Y. 235;

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Bluebook (online)
65 P. 114, 25 Mont. 391, 1901 Mont. LEXIS 53, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robinson-v-mills-mont-1901.