Ammerman v. Wyoming Canal Co.
Ammerman v. Wyoming Canal Co.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered,
It was not denied, that, as assignees or transferees of the Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company, the defendants were bound to keep up all public and private bridges across the canal, as heretofore had been done by the commonwealth: Act of 21st April 1858, P. L. 417. For a failure to repair the farm bridge on plaintiff’s land, this suit, after notice to repair it, was brought, and it was agreed on the trial below that repairs to the extent of $10 were required at the time, and that this was the amount of the damages to be assessed, if plaintiff was entitled to recover. Certainly to all appearance this would seem to present a very clear case of liability on part of the defendants to the plaintiff.
But the defendants contend, notwithstanding, against liability, because that the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad Company have, by virtue of their charter, located their road on the berme bank of the canal, and that this increases the magnitude and .expense of keeping up the bridge over the canal, and that therefore they, the railroad company, are answerable to the plaintiff under the provisions of the General Railroad Act of 19th February 1849, for not keeping up proper causeways over their road.
And now, to wit, October 30th 1861, judgment of the Common Pleas of Montour county in this case is reversed, and judgment is entered for the plaintiff for ten dollars damages with costs, and the costs of this writ of error.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.