Lyons v. City of Lowell
| Decision Date | 05 July 1921 |
| Parties | LYONS v. CITY OF LOWELL. LOWELL TRUST CO. v. SAME. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Case Reserved and Report from Superior Court, Middlesex County; Patrick W. Keating, Judge.
Two actions, one by Edward D. Lyons and the other by the Lowell Trust Company, against the City of Lowell, for damage to property from the breaking of a water main or pipe in the street in front of premises owned by one plaintiff and occupied by the other. Reserved and reported by the superior court for determination by the Supreme Judicial Court, after findings in favor of plaintiffs. Judgments for plaintiffs.
The case was tried on original and supplementary reports of the auditor and an agreement of the parties, which included an agreement that the auditor's report should be final on the facts. The auditor found negligence on the part of the city in the original construction and placing of the water main or pipe, but found that the preponderance of the evidence did not show negligence in failing to take means to ascertain if a leakage or break was likely to occur.J. J. & W. A. Hogan, of Lowell, for plaintiffs.
William D. Regan, City Sol., of Lowell, for defendant.
These are two actions of tort for damages to the personal and real property of the plaintiffs caused by the alleged negligence of the defendant city in the construction and operation of a water main or pipe in front of the plaintiffs' premises. The Lowell Trust Company occupied the first floor, a part of the basement, and certain rooms on the second floor of the brick building owned by the plaintiff Lyons. At a point about 35 feet from the entrance to the banking house of the Lowell Trust Company the Middlesex street water main connected with the one in Central street, both mains being 12-inch pipes. At or near the point of intersection a break occurred, the water rising 5 or 6 inches above the level of the street and causing damage to the plaintiffs' property. The cases were referred to an auditor, under an agreement that his findings of facts were to be final. It was also agreed that the water mains were a part of the defendant's water department, and were for the purpose of supplying water to its inhabitants, for pay, and for use in its fire department and supplying drinking fountains, for which no revenue was received.
The auditor found that the break was in the bottom of the Middlesex street water main near a ‘stone or piece of...
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