Rockett v. City of Philadelphia
Citation | 100 A. 826,256 Pa. 347 |
Parties | ROCKETT v. CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. |
Decision Date | 29 January 1917 |
Court | United States State Supreme Court of Pennsylvania |
256 Pa. 347
ROCKETT
v.
CITY OF PHILADELPHIA.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Jan. 29, 1917.
Appeal from Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County.
Trespass by Wesley Rockett against the City of Philadelphia, to recover damages for the death of his wife. Verdict for plaintiff for $9,500, and judgment entered for defendant n. o. v. and plaintiff appeals. Reversed.
Argued before MESTREZAT, POTTER, STEWART, MOSCHZISKER, and FRAZER, JJ.
Thomas James Meagher, of Philadelphia, for appellant. John P. Connelly, City Sol., and M. J. McEnery, Asst. City Sol., both of Philadelphia, for appellee.
MESTREZAT, J. This is an action of trespass brought by the plaintiff to recover damages for the death of his wife, resulting, as he alleges, from the negligence of the defendant city in permitting a fallen tree to obstruct Nell drive, a road about 40 feet wide on the west side of the Schuylkill river, in Fairmount Park in the city of Philadelphia. The statement avers that the defendant negligently permitted the tree to be and remain across the roadway, endangering the safety of persons lawfully traveling thereon, of which obstruction and danger the defendant had timely and ample notice, and negligently failed to properly and safely guard the obstruction or to give such notice or warning respecting the obstructing tree as was necessary and adequate for the safety and protection of persons lawfully traveling on the roadway. It appears from the plaintiff's evidence that on the night of August 18, 1911, the deceased, her sister-in-law, and two gentlemen left the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, in the city, in an automobile, owned by one of the men and operated by him, to go to Narberth, a suburb northwest of the city and the home of the deceased. They crossed the Schuylkill river on the Falls bridge and turned into Neil drive on the west side of the river. The party proceeded along the roadway at a speed of between 18 and 20 miles an hour, and when within 100 yards of city line collided with a tree which had fallen across the road, its roots being on the east side and its top branches on the west side. The accident occurred between 12 and 1 o'clock on the morning of the 19th. The four persons were thrown from the machine and injured, the injuries sustained by the plaintiff's wife resulting in her death. The testimony showed that the tree had been uprooted and blown across the road by a windstorm, and was discovered about 4:30 in the afternoon of August 18th...
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