Rowe v. Richards

142 N.W. 664, 32 S.D. 66, 1913 S.D. LEXIS 205
South Dakota Supreme Court·Decided June 6, 1913·Published·Cited by 32 cases

Opinion

POEEEY, J.

This action is brought against O. PL and E. R-Richards and the city of Watertown for the recovery of damages resulting from the death of the plaintiff’s husband. The defendant city of Watertown, hereinafter -to be designated as the city, appeared separately and demurred to plaintiff’s complaint on the grounds: “(i) That there is a defect of parties plaintiff 5(2) that there is a defect of parties defendant; (3) that there are several . causes of action improperly united; (4) that the complaint does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action; (5) that the plaintiff has no legal capacity to sue defendant; and (6) that the court has no jurisdiction of the subject of the action.” This demurrer was overruled by the order of the trial court, and the case is brought here upon an appeal by the city from this order. •

So far as the record before us shows, the defendants O. H. and E. R. Richards, hereinafter to be designated as the Richards, have made no appearance. In order to understand the questions presented by the demurrer, it will be necessary to set out the facts alleged in plaintiff’s complaint with greater detail than is ordinarily necessary.

It appears from the complaint, the truth of which is admitted by the demurrer: That on and for some time prior to the 20th day of July, 1907, plaintiff and one William D. Rowe were husband and wife, living in the city of Watertown. That at that time the Richards were the owners of a certain lot, or tract of ground, fronting on Kemp avenue, one of the main thoroughfares in the business part of the city, and that oh the date above mentioned they were engaged in the construction of a certain one-story, brick building upon said premises. That at that time the city was a municipal corporation, with complete control over all the streets and sidewalks in the city. That it had power to establish, and by ordinance had established, certain fire limits, within which limits it had power to designate the character of the buildings that should be erected and the thickness and 'strength of the walls to be used in the construction thereof That the city had a building inspector, whose duty it was to' inspect buildings in course of erection and to enforce, the city ordinance relative to the thickness of walls, strength of materials, etc. That the city had issued a permit to the Richards to erect the said building; that, while [72] the said building was in course of erection, it was dangerous for people to pass along the street in front of the said property; and that it was the duty of all of the defendants to maintain warnings and guards in -front of said property to keep people out of danger; but that there was a sidewalk along said Kemp avenue in front of said property, and this defendants allowed people to use in the usual manner without putting up any guards or giving any warning of the dangerous condition of the place. That the front wall of the said building, which abutted upon the said 'sidewalk, was composed of such weak materials and was so poorly constructed -that it was unable to sustain its own weight, and that by reason of the inefficiency of the materials used in the 'said wall and the faulty construction thereof the same became, and was, a nuisance and -a menace to the safety of people using the said sidewalk, and that in their failure to erect and maintain proper guards and warnings to prevent people from using the said sidewalk the defendants were guilty of carelessness and negligence in the performance of their duties to the public. That on the said 20th day of July, 1907, while the said William D. Rowe was passing along the sidewalk in front of the said wall, in the exercise of due -and proper care and without any knowledge or warning of the weak and dangerous condition-of the said wall, the said wall collapsed and fell over upon him, causing injuries which afterwards, on the 8th day of -February, 1912, resulted .in his death. That the defendants knew, or by the exercise of ordinary care might have known, of the weak and dangerous condition of the said wall, and that, therefore, the death of the said 'William D. Rowe was the result of their neglig'ence in failing to erect and maintain guards and give warning to -travelers along the said sidewalk of the danger existing at that point.

'The complaint further alleged that at the time of the said injury plaintiff and her said husband had one child, a son, of tender age, and that plaintiff and said child were supported 'by and were dependent upon the said William 'D. Rowe for their support and maintenance, and that, by his death, they had been deprived of the ■said means of süpport and maintenance, and thereby suffered damage.

[1,2] Appellant in support of its demurrer first contends that the complaint is fatally defective, because of its failure to allege a [73] compliance with the provisions of chapter 90, Laws of 1907. This chapter, so far as it pertains to this action, reads as follows: “No action for the recovery of damages for personal injury or death against any city or * * * town on account of its negligence shall be maintained unless written notice of the time, place and cause of injury is given to the clerk of the city or * * * town, by the .person injured, his or her agent or attorney, within sixty days after the injury, and any action for such recovery must be commenced within two years from the occurrence of the accident causing the injury or death,” etc.

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Rowe v. Richards, 142 N.W. 664, 32 S.D. 66, 1913 S.D. LEXIS 205 (S.D. 1913).

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