Meyers v. Philadelphia
Meyers v. Philadelphia
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The city of Philadelphia gave notice to the Monument Cemetery Company to reset the curb on the part of Fifteenth street, about two squares in length, which passes through its grounds. The cemetery company entered into a contract with a curb-setter, who agreed to do the work at a fixed price per foot. He left a pile of old curbstones that were unfit for use on the asphalt pavement between the new curb and the car track. This pile was one foot high and extended into the street two feet from the curb, and on the night of the accident there was no light near it to give notice to persons driving on the street. The plaintiff was the driver of a hansom and ran into the pile of stones at midnight. His cab was overturned and he was injured. The stones had been in the street four or five days before the accident and there was evidence tending to show that the work at this place had been completed for that length of time.
The city seeks to relieve itself of liability on the ground that a municipal corporation is not responsible for an injury caused by the negligence of an independent contractor. But
The judgment is affirmed.
Reference
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- Syllabus
- Negligence — Municipalities—Obstruction in street — Property owner —Independent contractors. Property owners engaged in work on a city or borough street in front of their properties in obedience to the requirements of an ordinance are not contractors exercising an independent employment, over whom the municipal authorities have no control. A municipality may not be responsible for the negligence of an owner of property engaged in work on a street done on notice from it, where the negligence is in the manner of doing the work on the part of the street necessarily occupied for that purpose, but its duty to exercise reasonable supervision of streets thrown open for travel always continues. Where a city notifies a property owner to reset a curb and the owner enters into a contract with a curb-setter to do the work at a fixed price per foot, and the latter on finishing the work leaves a pile of old curbstones on the cartway, and these stones are allowed to remain in the street for four or five days when their presence causes the overturning of a cab, and the injury of its driver, the latter may maintain an action against the city to recover damages for his injuries.