Johnson v. Snow
| Decision Date | 22 February 1907 |
| Parties | JOHNSON v. SNOW et al. |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Appeal from St. Louis Circuit Court; Moses N. Sale, Judge.
Action by Walter Johnson against Robert B. Snow and others. From a judgment for defendants, plaintiff appeals. Reversed and remanded.
This is a suit which was instituted by appellant in the circuit court of the city of St. Louis to recover the sum of $20,000 for personal injuries, alleged to have been caused by the negligence of the respondents. The petition stated, substantially, that the respondents were the owners of a building in the city of St. Louis, three stories in height, with basement and attic; that on July 25, 1899, respondents rented the building to William and Catherine Gillham for hotel purposes; that the Gillhams took possession of the building, and were engaged in the hotel business in the same on the 9th day of February, 1902; that on said day appellant was a lodger in said hotel and occupied a room on the third floor; that on the night of February 9th a fire broke out in said hotel, and appellant attempted to escape therefrom, in the ordinary mode, but, being unsuccessful, he jumped from his room to the ground and received the injuries complained of; and that there were no fire escapes on said building. Appellant bases his right of recovery upon the ground that respondents negligently failed to erect the fire escapes, and on that account he was injured. To the petition respondents filed a demurrer, on the ground that the owners of a leased building were not liable in the cause. The circuit court sustained the demurrer, and the appellant duly prosecuted his appeal to this court.
Ernest E. Wood, for appellant. Collins & Chappell, for respondents.
WOODSON, J. (after stating the facts).
Section 1, p. 219, of the Acts of 1901, regarding fire escapes, in part provides as follows: "It shall be the duty of the owner, proprietor, lessee, or keeper of every hotel * * * in the state of Missouri * * * which has a height of three or more stories to provide said structure with fire escapes attached to the structure of the building and by stair cases located on the interior of the building." The contention of the respondents is that the duty imposed by this act is not enjoined upon each and all of the persons or class of persons named, but upon one of them, to be determined according to each particular case; and that the common law must be resorted to in each case to ascertain who is liable for such an injury in case of fire. If we look to the common law to find who is responsible for...
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State v. Standard Oil Co.
...their violation. Yall v. Snow, 201 Mo. 511, 100 S. W. 1, 10 L. R. A. (N. S.) 177, 119 Am. St. Rep. 781, and cases cited; Johnson v. Snow, 201 Mo. 450, 100 S. W. 5. And as said by Graves, J., in the Delmar Jockey Club Case, 200 Mo., loc. cit. 70, 92 S. W. 185, 98 S. W. 543: "These proceeding......
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The State ex inf. Hadley v. Standard Oil Co.
...damages were prescribed and penalties imposed for their violation. [Yall v. Snow, 201 Mo. 511, 100 S.W. 1, and cases cited; Johnson v. Snow, 201 Mo. 450, 100 S.W. 5.] And said by Graves, J., in the Delmar Jockey Club case, supra, l. c. 70: "These proceedings are no longer recognized as crim......