8 N.Y.S. 252 | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | 1889
Upon the facts stated in the complaint the plaintiff was liable to Ferguson for the damages she sustained in consequence of the side-' walk being out of repair. Such liability is founded upon the well-established principle that a municipal corporation, having the exclusive care and control of the streets, is obliged to see that they are kept safe for the passage of persons and property, and to abate all nuisances which might prove dangerous; and if this is neglected, and any one is injured, it is liable for the damages sustained. The principle upon which such corporations are thus made liable is that whenever an individual or a corporation, for a consideration received from the sovereign power, has become bound by agreement, either express or implied, to do certain things, such corporation or individual is liable, in case of neglect to perform the agreement, not only to a public prosecution by indictment, but to a private action at the suit of every person injured by such neglect. The grant by the government to the municipality of a portion of its sovereign power is to be deemed a sufficient consideration for the implied con