City of Seattle v. Curtis
City of Seattle v. Curtis
Opinion of the Court
— The appellant was convicted in the police court of Seattle of the crime of permitting premises belonging to her to become nauseous, foul, offensive and injurious to the public health, and unpleasant and disagreeable to adjacent residents, contrary to an ordinance of the city. She appealed to the superior court and was again convicted.
It is argued that the court committed error in allowing, and afterwards refusing to strike, certain testimony of the city’s witnesses relative to the condition of particular portions of the premises it was claimed by the city and its health officers constituted a nuisance. It is insisted they were not set out in the complaint. But the complaint was in no way moved against; it is in the language of the ordinance and was sufficient to allow the testimony objected to.
The argument that the court committed error while the evidence was being given, by a ruling that notice to the owner of the premises before the commencement of this action was not required by the law, may be disposed of by noticing that this is not an action for the abatement or suppression of a nuisance, but is a criminal action for the violation of an ordinance of the city against the maintenance of a nuisance.
There was ample testimony, though disputed, to show that the appellant had ample notice of the condition of the premises that the authorities complained of, and that she refused to remedy the unsanitary condition. She was notified orally and, also, in writing, by
It is also contended the evidence was insufficient to justify the verdict and that a new trial should have been granted, but the record satisfies us to the contrary. Affirmed.
Parker, C. J., Bridges, Fullerton, and Tolman, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.