161 Iowa 422 | Iowa | 1913
Plaintiff alleges that on April 2; 1910, he was injured while passing over a county bridge in Madison county, by reason of a defect in the bridge, and that thereafter, and before May 7, 1910, he filed in the office of the county auditor of said county a claim for $1,000 damages by reason thereof; that the board of supervisors of said county considered said claim, and treated the same as filed, but that the same is now lost or destroyed, through no fault of plaintiff.
On May 7, 1910, the following notice was served:
Exhibit A.
To T. M. Scott, Auditor of Madison County, Iowa: You are hereby notified that on the 2d day of April, 1910, the undersigned, Henry Klingman, was injured while crossing over the bridge located on the public highway running east of the Lincoln schoolhouse through the center of section 2, township 75, range 28 west, Lincoln township, Madison county, Iowa, and being a few rods west of the center of said section 2 in township 75 north, range 28 west 5th P. M., Iowa. That said injury was caused by the defective condition of the floor of the said bridge, said floor being in such a decayed and rotten condition that while the undersigned was crossing over said bridge on horseback, the right hind foot of the horse he was riding went through the floor of the said bridge, throwing the undersigned against the horn of the saddle and off the horse, striking his right side on the railing of the said bridge. That by the said fall the undersigned sustained serious and permanent injuries to his right side, etc.
[Signed] Henry Klingman.
Said notice was served by the following acceptance:
Winterset, Iowa, May 7, 1910. I hereby accept due and legal service of the above notice and waive copy thereof and all irregularities as to manner of service. T. M. Scott, Co. Aud.
Plaintiff commenced suit January 25, 1911. The petition alleges, among other things, in substance, that after the
“December 28, 1911. Disallowed by order of board of supervisors. "W. II. Deardorf, Chairman.”
The defendant demurred on two grounds: First, that' the cause of action is barred by the statute of limitations;
It is alleged in the petition, and admitted by the demurrer, that the auditor delivered the notice to the county attorney and the board, who did make an investigation and acted upon the claim by disallowing it. If this be true, the county and its officers were not misled. The notice, though not drawn with proper care, served its purpose. .The auditor was a person upon whom notice could be properly served. The notice was addressed to the “Auditor of Madison County, Iowa,” and particularly describes the place in Madison county, Iowa, where the injury is alleged to have occurred. The auditor and the board treated the notice as
We are of opinion that the trial court erred in sustaining the demurrer. The case is therefore Reversed and Remanded.