Pérez v. People
Pérez v. People
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The plaintiff in this case was the mother of a tbree-year old child who fell into a tank or “cattle-dip” (tanque de inmersión) belonging to the defendant and was drowned. In addition to a canse of action for the death of the infant,
Although we are inclined to believe that the present action as presented, does not fall within the provisions of section 1808 of the Civil Code (1930 ed.) permitting actions against The People of Puerto Eico only iii cases of torts committed by its special agents, we prefer to decide the case on the merits of the allegations themselves.
In substance, the complaint sets forth that The People of Puerto Eico, owned and controlled a “cattle-dip” or tank for use in the extermination of certain parasites affecting-cattle; that the tank had and has a peculiar appearance which attracts the curiosity of people in general and espeT cially that of children; that the tank was situated upon the property of a third person and was built by The People of Puerto Eico through an independent contractor; that plaintiff’s house was next to the property where the tank was built; that plaintiff’s child, attracted by the peculiar appearance of the tank, approached it, fell in and was drowned; that the death of the child was due to the.negligence of the defendant in having constructed said tank too close to the plaintiff’s house, and also due to the fact that the structure was unprotected and freely accessible to pedestrians and especially children.
The other cause of action depends on the sufficiency of the one just stated and need not be discussed.
Prom a close examination of the allegations which we have summarized, it appears that the plaintiff was relying upon the attractive nuisance theory. The accident happened within the close of a third person where on any other theory
Under the circumstances, we must affirm the judgment of the lower court.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.