34 Wis. 285 | Wis. | 1874
The liability of a city for damages resulting from a defective walk which such city under its charter was bound to keep in repair, has been so frequently affirmed in this court
In this case it is claimed that a new trial should have been granted, for the reason that the city authorities had no notice that the walk was out of repair.
There was testimony given on the part of the plaintiffs which tended very strongly to show that the sidewalk, where Mrs. Colby was injured, had been in a dangerous and defective condition for a long time; that the planks were loose, and the stringers upon which the planks were laid were almost entirely decayed, so that they would not hold a nail; and that the officers of the city had actual notice of its condition long enough before, the accident to have repaired it. The court directed the jury that they must find from the evidence, either that the city authorities had actual knowledge of the defect in the walk, or that it had existed for such a length of time that, by the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, the authorities would have discovered it; and that in the latter case knowledge might be presumed. This was substantially the rule laid down in Goodnough v. Oshkosh, 24 Wis., 549. The insufficiency in the walk was of such a character that the slightest attention on the part of the city officers would have enabled them to see it. And the evidence tends to prove that it had been in this unsafe condition for many months. There was ample testimony from which the jury might have found that the city authorities had actual knowledge that the walk was out of repair; and the city must be held liable for damages caused by their neglect to perform their duty. This disposes of all the questions in the case which we deem it necessary to notice.
By the Court. — The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.