Horner v. City of Philadelphia

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Horner v. City of Philadelphia, 194 Pa. 542 (Pa. 1900)
45 A. 330; 1900 Pa. LEXIS 434
Brown, Dean, Fell, Green, Mestrezat, Mitchell

Horner v. City of Philadelphia

Opinion of the Court

Per Curiam,

There was no evidence showing that the fire plug was placed in an unusual position or was of defective structure such as to induce the accident for which this action was brought. It was placed within four inches of the curb, and was of the ordinary diameter. As fire plugs are a clear public necessity, and cannot be placed in the open highway, and as they must be placed in such a position as to bo easily accessible in case of fire, there is no other position for them but on the sidewalks, and it is the universal practice to locate them there. The municipality is the sole authority to determine this matter, and, of course, as we have frequently held, their discretion is not to be held sub*544ject to the verdicts of juries. The city is under no legal obligation to light its streets, and cannot be held responsible for an alleged insufficiency of light. This whole subject has been so recently considered in the exhaustive opinion of our Brother Dean in the late case of Canavan v. Oil City, 183 Pa. 611, that no further discussion of it is required.

Judgment affirmed.

Reference

Full Case Name
Walter J. Horner and Ella W. Horner v. The City of Philadelphia
Cited By
12 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
Municipalities — Discretionary power — Position of fire plug — Negligence. A municipality has the discretionary power to locate a fire plug on a sidewalk, and if, in the exercise of such discretion, it places a plug of ordinary diameter on a sidewalk four inches from the curb, it cannot be made liable for personal injuries to a pedestrian who stumbles over the plug. Municipalities — Lighting streets — Negligence. A municipality is under no legal obligation to light its streets, and cannot therefore be held responsible for an alleged insufficiency of light.