Cue v. Breeland

Mississippi Supreme Court
Cue v. Breeland, 78 Miss. 864 (Miss. 1901)
Whitfield

Cue v. Breeland

Opinion of the Court

Whitfield, C. J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The wrong done was one done to appellee, not the county. That wrong consisted in putting the appellee in a situation where he was bound to rebuild, and it is the cost of the rebuilding which is the measure of his damage. The declaration proceeds on this idea, and the demurrer was properly overruled. With the damages here sought to be recovered the county had nothing to do. The fifth charge asked by the defendant properly states the abstract principle of law, but the sound principle had.been announced substantially in defendant’s third and fourth charges.

If the creek was navigable, it was yet the duty of appellant not to so float his logs as wilfully to injure appellee. There was evidence showing that the appellant’s authorized agent, while engaged in the master’s work, told an employe to “let the logs loose and let them make or break; ” that they were let loose late in the evening; that they could have been guided through by four men stationed on the bridge, and that no effort was made to do this. Bio utere, etc., fits in here. If the jury believed this, and it would seem they did, then a case of wilful wrong was made out, and error in refusing the fifth instruction for defendant, and the one as to navigability conferring superior rights, could not possibly, in that view, be reversible error. We think the right verdict has been reached, and the judgment is

Affirmed.

Reference

Full Case Name
Emelio Cue v. Quitman Breeland
Cited By
3 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
1. Public Bbidse. Trespasser. Contractor. Right to sue. Measure of damages. One under contract to maintain a county bridge may recover of another who wilfully destroys it the outlay to which he has been subjected in rebuilding it. ' 2. Same. Navigable stream. Floating logs. One who wilfully injures a county bridge, by acts either of omission or commission, while floating- logs down a navigable stream, is liable therefor to the extent of the damage done.