Hallowell v. Richland Twp.
Hallowell v. Richland Twp.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
A municipality is bound to keep its highways in a fairly safe travelable condition, and travelers are entitled to presume that it will do so: March v. Phœnixville Borough, 221 Pa. 64; Rufo v. Philadelphia, 58 Pa. Superior Ct. 638. It is not an insurer against accidents from all defects in its highways, latent as well as patent, but is answerable for neglect in its duties in the construction and care of them. For a defect arising in them, without its fault, it is not liable unless it has express notice or
We heed not depend on constructive notice to the township. The roadmaster, while engaged in the duties which brought him in contact with the defect in this bridge, knew of its condition; his knowledge would charge the defendant with actual notice of the defective condition of the highway. A roadmaster is such an officer of the
The measure of damages adopted by the court was that laid down in Price v. Newell, 53 Pa. Superior Ct. 628, and there was no error committed in permitting inquiry bearing on this measure of damages. The objections to the testimony of Robert M. Hallowell cannot be sustained. It was not the question itself but the repetition of it that was objected to; and when the answer was given, not responsive to the question, no motion was made to strike it out. The objection to the question as to what was necessary to be done to the damaged car was properly overruled. Many of the assignments are not within our rules and cannot be considered. The testimony of Mr. Kile called for an opinion and as such was properly disregarded.
The sixteenth assignment of error, relative to the point affirmed by the court, must be dismissed. The point as presented was unintelligible. Its affirmance did no harm; the appellant was not prejudiced as the court clearly stated the exact rule of law governing the case in affirming appellant’s points. Many of the objections to evidence were trivial, and the assignments based on them present no question of merit.
The assignments of error are overruled and the judgment is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.