Witham v. Bangor & Aroostook Rail Road
Witham v. Bangor & Aroostook Rail Road
Opinion of the Court
Prom the report we find the following facts. As the plaintiff was driving along the highway in Guilford where it runs adjacent to and nearly parallel with the track of the defendant, her horse became suddenly frightened at three pieces of culvert pipe, and she was thrown from her wagon and injured. The pipe was lying upon the right of way of the defendant corporation some seventeen feet outside of the limits of the highway, and had been deposited there by the defendant four days before for the purpose of repairing and improving its road-bed at Cooper brook, by substituting a cul-, vert for a bridge at that point. Each piece of pipe weighed something over three tons, and they were as near to the railroad track and- the brook as it was practicable to unload and use them. The plaintiff was at the time in the exercise of due care; her horse was kind, safe, and broken for travel upon the public roads, and the appearance of the pipe was such as was calculated to frighten horses of ordinary gentleness.
While every person is bound to use and enjoy his own property in such a manner as not to unreasonably injure another’s, yet no action will lie for the reasonable exercise or use of a person’s right. If a’man unreasonably leaves upon his own premises an object whose appearance is such that it will frighten horses which are kind, safe,
Each case must necessarily stand upon its own facts. Applying these principles to the case before us we think the plaintiff has failed to show that the defendant acted negligently or unreasonably. The pipe was upon the defendant’s own premises^ placed there for a lawful purpose, and close to the spot ivhere it was to be used. Its weight, 6147 pounds to the piece, was such as precluded it from being placed on the other side of the railroad, or further away from the highway.
It is true that, in view of the fact that the appearance of the pipe was calculated to frighten horses of ordinary gentleness, the defendant would not be justified in allowing it to remain so near the highway for an unreasonable time. Under the circumstances, however, we do not think four days an unreasonable time. The nature of the repairs for which the pipe was intended, the constant and regular use of the defendant’s road for public travel and commerce, the extent of its
Judgment for defendant.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.