City of Louisville v. Uebelhor
| Citation | 142 Ky. 151,134 S.W. 152 |
| Parties | CITY OF LOUISVILLE v. UEBELHOR. |
| Decision Date | 08 February 1911 |
| Court | Kentucky Court of Appeals |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Jefferson County, Common Pleas Branch Second Division.
Action by Katherine Uebelhor against the City of Louisville. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Reversed and remanded for a new trial.
Leon P Lewis, Clayton B. Blakey, and Huston Quin, for appellant.
J. J Kavanaugh, for appellee.
O'REAR J.
Appellee sued the city of Louisville for damages for her personal injury, caused, it is alleged, by her falling on a street crossing at Preston and Market streets in Louisville. She claims there was a hole or depression in the stones constituting the crossing, and as she alighted from a street car at night she stepped in the hole, lost her balance, and fell, severely spraining an ankle. The issue tried out was whether the hole or depression was such as constituted an unsafe state of the crossing. The crossing was made of large flat stones laid end to end. Wagons passing over them had worn away two of the stones at their joints, making a concave depression from 1 or 1 1/2 inches to 4 or 5 inches deep; that is, the evidence of the plaintiff showed that it was 4 or 5 inches deep, while the evidence of the city showed the former. If it was as much as the latter, it was a question for the jury whether that was such a condition as was not reasonably safe for a street crossing. If it was only an inch and a half or two inches, a smooth worn place in the stones it would not be in such a condition as indicates neglect of the crossing by the city. The city does not insure the safety of its streets, and it is not reasonable to place upon it the burden of maintaining at all times and under hazard every street crossing and sidewalk in a perfect condition. It is only required to be reasonably safe for use as a footway for pedestrians. There must be some point short of perfection. Therefore that is not actionable negligence. We know as a matter of common knowledge that such depressions in a street as slight unevenness, caused by wear, of an inch or so, are quite common in all cities. That which is so customary may be regarded as ordinarily safe, and that is the standard. It was, then, a very material question in this case as to the extent of the depression.
The accident occurred in August, 1907. The suit was begun in January, 1908. The trial was had October, 1909. The defendant offered to show that the same crossing was in existence when the suit was tried, without repair or material change. If there...
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Taylor v. Kansas City
... ... Milwaukee, 110 Wis. 478; Hollan v. Milwaukee, 174 Wis. 392, 182 N.W. 978; Horton v. Cray, 133 Atl. 811; Hirst v. Iowa City, 188 N.W. 783; Louisville v. Uebelhor, 134 S.W. 152; Richmond v. Schonberger, 68 S.E. 284; Chicago v. Norton, 116 Ill. App. 570; White v. Belleville, 284 Ill. App. 322, 1 N.E ... ...
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...110 Wis. 478; Hollan v. Milwaukee, 174 Wis. 392, 182 N.W. 978; Horton v. Cray, 133 A. 811; Hirst v. Iowa City, 188 N.W. 783; Louisville v. Uebelhor, 134 S.W. 152; Richmond v. Schonberger, 68 S.E. 284; Chicago Norton, 116 Ill.App. 570; White v. Belleville, 284 Ill.App. 322, 1 N.E.2d 790; Puc......
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