High v. City of Jacksonville
| Decision Date | 18 April 1906 |
| Citation | 51 Fla. 207,40 So. 1032 |
| Parties | HIGH v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Error to Circuit Court, Duval County; R. M. Call, Judge.
Action by Green H. High against the city of Jacksonville. Judgment for defendant, and plaintiff brings error. Affirmed.
Syllabus by the Court
Chapter 4872, p. 301, of the Laws of 1899, is a special law applicable to the city of Jacksonville, and the third section thereof, requiring written notice of claims for damages to be given the mayor as a condition precedent for the maintenance of a suit for such damages, is not repealed by, or in conflict with, chapter 4722, p. 114, of the Laws passed at the same session of the Legislature; and in a declaration against the city for the recovery of such damages as are embraced in the former act, it is necessary to allege that the notice thereby required to be given was given, and a declaration lacking such allegation is demurrable.
COUNSEL Geo. U. Walker, for plaintiff in error.
Barrs & Odom, for defendant in error.
The plaintiff in error sued the defendant in error for damages for the death of his minor child, John Henry High, alleged to have been caused by touching his foot on a live electric wire controlled by the city, alleged to have been negligently permitted by it to fall and lie on the street where the child was killed, from the 29th to the 31st of August, inclusive. The declaration was demurred to, because it did not allege that notice was given of the alleged injury to the mayor of the city within the time and in the manner prescribed by law. The demurrer was sustained by the circuit judge, and the plaintiff not amending, final judgment was entered for the city, from which a writ of error was sued out.
The law referred to as requiring notice is section 3, c. 4872, p 302, Acts of 1899, approved May 30, 1899. It is in these words: 'No suit shall be maintained against the city for damages arising out of its failure to keep in proper condition any sidewalk, pavement, viaduct, bridge, street or other public place unless it shall be made to appear that the damage alleged was attributable to the gross negligence of the city, and that written notice of such damage was, within thirty days after the receiving of the injury, given to the mayor with such reasonable specifications as to time and place and witnesses as would enable the city officials to investigate the matter, and no verdict shall in any suit be given for an amount exceeding compensation damages to the plaintiff directly attributable to such negligence on the part of the city and not caused by contributory negligence on the part of plaintiff.
'It shall be the duty of the mayor, upon receiving any such notice, to at once investigate the matter and lay the facts supported by the evidence before the city council in a written report, and the city council shall have the right and upon the written request of the person injured, it shall be the duty of the city council to investigate the matter and it may by ordinance make such reasonable settlement of any such damages as may be agreed upon between the city council and the person so damaged, which settlement must be approved by two-thirds of the city council.'
The plaintiff in error, however, contends that this section is in conflict with and repealed by the act of the same session of the Legislature, approved June 3, 1899, viz., chapter 4722 p. 114, under which this suit was brought. The first section is as follows, viz.: 'Whenever the death of any minor child shall be caused by the wrongful act, negligence, carelessness or default of any individual, or by the...
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Commercial Carrier Corp. v. Indian River County
...a condition precedent to maintaining a suit. Crumbley v. City of Jacksonville, 102 Fla. 408, 135 So. 885 (1931); High v. City of Jacksonville, 51 Fla. 207, 40 So. 1032 (1906). Consequently, the performance of the condition should be alleged in the complaint in accordance with Florida Rule o......
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Williams v. City of Jacksonville
... ... provision of the city charter in several cases, but it is ... granted that those cases are not applicable here, because in ... none of such cases was the action brought against the city by ... an employee. Among the cases referred to is the case of ... High v. City of Jacksonville, 51 Fla. 207, 40 So ... 1032, 1033, and Crumbley v. City of Jacksonville, ... 102 Fla. 409, 135 So. 885, and the latter case on rehearing, ... 138 So. 486. In the case of High v. City of Jacksonville, ... supra, this court, speaking through Mr. Justice Hocker, said: ... ...
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Marsh v. City of Miami
...51 Fla. 207, 40 So. 1032, to support its contention. On casual inspection one would be led to the conclusion that High v. City of Jacksonville, supra, rules this case, mature consideration dispels that conclusion. In High v. City of Jacksonville, supra, the court was confronted with two act......
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Ragans v. City of Jacksonville, A-430
...of Jacksonville, 102 Fla. 408, 135 So. 885, 887, 138 So. 486; Stallings v. City of Tampa, 78 Fla. 606, 83 So. 625; High v. City of Jacksonville, 51 Fla. 207, 40 So. 1032.5 Crumbley v. City of Jacksonville, supra, note 4.6 Supra Note 4.7 Skinner v. City of Eustis, 147 Fla. 22, 2 So.2d 116, 1......