Wright & Ditson v. City of Boston

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Wright & Ditson v. City of Boston

170 N.E. 72, 270 Mass. 338, 1930 Mass. LEXIS 1027

CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

DecidedFebruary 5, 1930

StatusPublished

Cited by3 cases

This text of 170 N.E. 72 (Wright & Ditson v. City of Boston) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Wright & Ditson v. City of Boston, 170 N.E. 72, 270 Mass. 338, 1930 Mass. LEXIS 1027 (Mass. 1930).

Pincite

Opinion

Rugg, C.J.

This is an action of contract to recover the “price of athletic wearing apparel purchased from the plaintiff by the school committee of the defendant.” Such wearing apparel was bought for the purpose of being loaned to certain pupils of a public school to be worn and used while practising for athletic games and contests so long as such pupils might remain members of a football team representing the school. Title was to be retained by the city, and the wearing apparel was to be returned to the school committee when any pupil ceased to be a member of such team and, after cleansing, to be reloaned. The [339]*339number of pupils on the football team is small compared to the total number in the school. It is agreed that. “It is impossible to organize and conduct football teams without such wearing apparel as that for which the plaintiff in this case is seeking to recover the purchase price. Playing football without the protection of pads, head guards, etc., would subject the participants to serious danger to health and even life. Athletic training is an essential part of the modern theory of education, and football is one of the most popular forms of athletics. Many students in the Boston public schools are financially unable to furnish their own athletic wearing apparel and if the school committee is unable to furnish it the result will be that a great many students will be barred from competition for the school teams.”

The powers of the school committee of the defendant city touching this matter are set forth in St. 1907, c. 295, § 1. Thereby the school committee of the defendant city “shall . . . organize and conduct physical training and exercises, athletics, sports, games, and play, and shall provide proper apparatus, equipment and facilities for the same in the buildings, yards and playgrounds under the control of said committee, or upon any other land which it may have the right to use for this purpose.” See also Spec. St. 1919, c. 206, § 1 (d). The language of the enabling statute involved, while varying somewhat, does not differ in substance from that contained in G. L. c. 71, § 48, conferring similar powers upon school committees of other cities. Said § 48 was before the court for construction in Brine v. Cambridge, 265 Mass. 452. It there was decided that said § 48 did not confer upon the school committee of that city power to do what was undertaken to be done by the school committee of the present defendant. The case at bar is governed by the decision in the Brine case. It is unnecessary to repeat the grounds upon which that decision rests. It follows that the entry must be

Judgment for defendant,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Rugg, C.J.

This is an action of contract to recover the “price of athletic wearing apparel purchased from the plaintiff by the school committee of the defendant.” Such wearing apparel was bought for the purpose of being loaned to certain pupils of a public school to be worn and used while practising for athletic games and contests so long as such pupils might remain members of a football team representing the school. Title was to be retained by the city, and the wearing apparel was to be returned to the school committee when any pupil ceased to be a member of such team and, after cleansing, to be reloaned. The [339]*339number of pupils on the football team is small compared to the total number in the school. It is agreed that. “It is impossible to organize and conduct football teams without such wearing apparel as that for which the plaintiff in this case is seeking to recover the purchase price. Playing football without the protection of pads, head guards, etc., would subject the participants to serious danger to health and even life. Athletic training is an essential part of the modern theory of education, and football is one of the most popular forms of athletics. Many students in the Boston public schools are financially unable to furnish their own athletic wearing apparel and if the school committee is unable to furnish it the result will be that a great many students will be barred from competition for the school teams.”

The powers of the school committee of the defendant city touching this matter are set forth in St. 1907, c. 295, § 1. Thereby the school committee of the defendant city “shall . . . organize and conduct physical training and exercises, athletics, sports, games, and play, and shall provide proper apparatus, equipment and facilities for the same in the buildings, yards and playgrounds under the control of said committee, or upon any other land which it may have the right to use for this purpose.” See also Spec. St. 1919, c. 206, § 1 (d). The language of the enabling statute involved, while varying somewhat, does not differ in substance from that contained in G. L. c. 71, § 48, conferring similar powers upon school committees of other cities. Said § 48 was before the court for construction in Brine v. Cambridge, 265 Mass. 452. It there was decided that said § 48 did not confer upon the school committee of that city power to do what was undertaken to be done by the school committee of the present defendant. The case at bar is governed by the decision in the Brine case. It is unnecessary to repeat the grounds upon which that decision rests. It follows that the entry must be

Judgment for defendant,

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

170 N.E. 72, 270 Mass. 338, 1930 Mass. LEXIS 1027, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wright-ditson-v-city-of-boston-mass-1930.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack