131 Iowa 566 | Iowa | 1906
The petition alleges that, with the consent and by the order and authority of the defendant city, one of its principal streets was on July 4, 1903, obstructed by a wire stretched from the roof of the courthouse bordering upon said street and drawn across the traveled street sto a post or fastening near the ground on the opposite side of said street. It is further alleged that said wire was so stretched and prepared to facilitate the purpose of a female acrobat or performer of dangerous feats to slide down said wire from the courthouse roof to the ground below while “ hanging by her teeth,” which purpose was publicly advertised and well known to the city and its officers, who in violation of their statutory duty to keep the streets free from obstructions to travel, not only neglected and failed to prevent the erection and use of such nuisance, but failed and neglected to cause the same to be removed and permitted the same to remain and be put to its designated use to the manifest peril of all persons lawfully using said public way. It is further alleged that as the plaintiff, having no knowledge or notice of the existence of said nuisance, was passing along said street, as he lawfully might, the acrobat or per
The testimony, without substantial controversy, tends to show that, preparatory to a celebration of the national anniversary, the city council of Et. Dodge by formal resolution granted to an organization known as the “ Commercial Club,” “ the privilege of the streets for a fourth of July celebration, . . . the privilege of selling privileges for booths and entertainments such as they may see fit to permit with the concurrence of the mayor of the city, and the sole right to collect and appropriate all revenues derived therefrom to defray the expenses attendant upon such celebration; that they be granted the privilege of discharging fireworks for an evening display; and that said government appoint such special police as it may deem necessary to preserve order.”
Pursuant to this authority, and in furtherance of the general purposes of the celebration, the Commercial Club procured or permitted one De Etta to come to Et. Dodge with the exhibition referred to in the petition. His coming and the proposed “ slide for life ” by a young woman under his management were advertised as one of the attractions of the day. The wire on which the slide was to be executed was put up early in the morning of the celebration or during the evening prior thereto, stretching from the roof of the courthouse, which stands flush with the public sidewalk, downward and outward in a diagonal course across the street known as Central avenue, and some distance into a cross-street known as Seventh street, ending at a telephone pole to which it was fastened near the ground. That the street was to be thus occupied was a matter of very general
The testimony tends to show that the plaintiff was a laborer. He did not take any of the local papers, and, while he knew that a celebration was in progress, he did not know of the proposed slide for life. With his wife he came along the sidewalk in front of the courthouse, making his way with or through the crowd there gathering. Pausing a while for his wife to rest herself, he stood at the outer edge of the walk to look about him, and in this position was struck
■ That the city may be held liable for permitting condititons which endanger travelers, but do not constitute any defect in the street surface or obstruct travel thereon, has been expressly held by this court. For instance, in Stanley v. Davenport, 54 Iowa, 463, the use on the street of a steam motor the appearance of which was calculated to frighten
It is the duty of the city to keep its streets open and in repair and free from nuisance. It is also its duty to maintain its sidewalks in a reasonably safe condition. This duty extends, not merely to the surface of the street or walk, but to those things within its control which endanger the safety of those using the street or walk properly. It may not be the duty of a city to open to public travel a given street to its full width, and it may not be its duty to construct a sidewalk thereon; but, when it has assumed that obligation, it should make the street and walk reasonably safe for the uses for which they are intended. A defect is defined to be “ a want or absence of something necessary for completeness or perfection.” Webster’s Dictionary. It also includes the idea of a fault or want of perfection. In the statutory sense a street or sidewalk is defective when it is not in a reasonably safe condition for the use for which it is intended. That condition may be due to improper construction, to poor material, or to other causes. It may be due to the presence of something which is a menace to the safety of users of the way, as well as to imperfect construction or. the absence of needed labor or material.
• In the Barries case, supra, the Supreme Court of the United States says: “ The statute gives to municipal corporations the care, supervision, and control of all public
The same principle was recognized and applied in Freeland v. Muscatine, 9 Iowa, 464. Were the act complained of an assumption of power or authority by the city or its council with reference to some matter not committed to its jurisdiction, and concerning which it was charged with no duty or obligation, it may be that no municipal liability would arise therefrom; but the care and control of its streets is peculiarly a business or duty committed to' its keeping, and it cannot excuse its' own act in creating or permitting a nuisance therein by saying that such act was ultra vires. Directly in point is the decision of the Wisconsin court in Little v. Madison, 42 Wis. 643 (24 Am. Rep. 435). In the cited case the city officers authorized an exhibition of wild animals in the street. The plaintiff’s horse, being frightened by the animals, ran away and for injuries thus occasioned he was held to have a right of action against the city. So, also, is the case of Richmond v. Smith, 101 Va. 161 (43 S. E. 346). There the city, acting by its council, assumed to permit certain streets to be occupied by structures of various kinds for the use of a so-called “ Street Fair.” As a part of the entertainment, and in keeping with the character of these exhibitions in general, a “ cake-walk ” was performed upon a platform which had been placed in the street for that purpose and surrounded by a railing. The crowd gathered .to view the classic performance, filled the sidewalk and pressed against the railing which broke, causing an injury to the plaintiff. In holding the city liable, the court says: “ It was the duty of the city to abate the
Not unlike in fact and in principle is the recent case decided by this court (Farrell v. Dubuque, 129 Iowa 477, where the city is held chargeable with negligence for permitting the erection of an insecure and dangerous structure in the public way, for street fair purposes. We there said: “ It is clear that, when the city allowed these structures to remain in the street with knowledge that they were unlawfully placed there, and that they were dangerous, it rendered itself liable to any one receiving injuries by reason thereof.” Under the rule of these cases, and of the great weight of authority in general, we regard it clear that the court was in error in holding as a matter of law that no negligence had been shown on the part of the appellee. Whether or not-, a given structure in the street obstructs, or may obstruct, the public use or safety, is always under ordinary circumstances a jury question. Bybee v. State, 94 Ind. 443 (48 Am. Rep. 175); Grove v. Ft. Wayne, 45 Ind. 429 (15 Am. Rep. 262); Centerville v. Woods, 57 Ind. 192; Logansport v. Dick, 70 Ind. 65 (36 Am. Rep. 166).
As bearing upon the propositions thus far discussed, see, in addition to authorities already cited, Grove v. Ft. Wayne, 45 Ind. 429 (15 Am. Rep. 262); Hughes v. Fon Du Lac, 73 Wis. 380 (41 N. W. 408); Wells v. Brooklyn (41 N. Y. Supp. 143); Wood on Nuisance, section 472; Champlin v. Village of Penn Yan, 34 Hun (N. Y.) 33; Wilbert v. Sheboygan, 121 Wis. 518 (99 N. W. 331); 2 Dillon’s Mun. Corp. 660, and note; Arthur v. Cohoes, 9 N. Y. Supp 160; Young v. Rothrock, 121 Iowa, 588; Langan v. Atchison, 35 Kan. 318 (11 Pac. 38, 57 Am. Rep. 165); Hart v. Board, 57 N. J. Law 90 (29 Atl. 490); Speir v. Brooklyn, 139 N. Y. 6 (34 N. E. 727, 21 L. R. A. 641, 36 Am. St. Rep. 664); Landau v. N. Y., 180 N. Y. 48 (72 N. E. 631); Thomas
Directly in point upon this proposition is also Cohen v. Mayor, 113 N. Y. 532 (21 N. E. 700, 10 Am. St. Rep. 506, 4 L. R. A. 406). There the city, without legal authority to do so, undertook to permit the owner of a wagon to leave it when not in use standing in the street in front of his premises. The licensee, having removed his horse from the wagon, raised the thills to a perpendicular position and tied them 'there with a small string. While in this position the wagon was jostled by a passing vehicle, and the thills fell, striking and injuring a person passing that way. It was contended, in defense to. an action for damages, that as the negligence of the licensee in tying up the thills and the act of the driver of the passing vehicle had intervened between the negligent act of the city and the injury, and as the injury would not have occurred but for these intervening causes, the city could not be held liable. The objection was overruled. The court, after holding the city negligent in licensing the obstruction of the street, says: “ But, assuming that the city had no right to issue the permit, it is urged that the act of the defendant was too remote to be regarded as the proximate cause of the damage herein. We do not think so. The act of the defendant was wrongful, and it consisted in setting up an obstruction in the public highway,
For the reasons stated the judgment of the district court is reversed.