Shannon v. Jefferson County

• Decision Date: 10 April 1900
• Citation: 125 Ala. 384,27 So. 977
• Parties: SHANNON v. JEFFERSON COUNTY. JEFFERSON COUNTY v. SHANNON.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

27 So. 977

125 Ala. 384

SHANNON v. JEFFERSON COUNTY.

JEFFERSON COUNTY v. SHANNON.

Supreme Court of Alabama

April 10, 1900

Appeal from city court of Birmingham; William W. Wilkerson, Judge.

Action by J. J. Shannon, administrator of W. H. Shannon, deceased against Jefferson county, for death caused by collapse of a bridge. From a judgment in favor of plaintiff defendant appeals, and from a ruling on the giving of instructions plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

These two appeals were taken from the same judgment in one case. The suit was brought by James Shannon, as administrator of W H. Shannon, deceased, against Jefferson county, to recover damages for personal injuries received by the intestate in the falling of a public bridge along a public highway in the county, which injury resulted in the death of plaintiff's intestate. The complaint, as originally filed, contained but one count, which was as follows: "The plaintiff, as administrator as aforesaid, claims of defendant the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, and for cause of action says that on, to wit, the 21st day of November, 1896, said W. H Shannon, deceased, with divers other persons, was passing on and over a public free bridge at night, over Village creek near Ensley, in said county, in a wagon drawn by two mules and that while on and passing over said bridge said bridge gave way, and fell down, and precipitated said decedent a great distance to the earth and water beneath, and hurt and bruised him by said fall, and that the timbers of said bridge struck and fell on him, and that he thereby received such injuries that he shortly thereafter died from the effects thereof; and plaintiff alleges that said bridge was a public free bridge, and was erected by contract with the county commissioners of said county, and that no guaranty was taken by them, by bond or otherwise, that said bridge should continue safe for the passage of travelers and other persons and plaintiff alleges further that said bridge was unsafe and defective, and defectively constructed, and that the fall of said bridge and the death of said decedent were caused by the unsafe condition of said bridge and defects therein and the defective construction thereof, and by the wrongful act, omission, and negligence of the commissioners of the county court of said county in not having said bridge safely and properly constructed; and plaintiff says further that prior to the bringing of this suit the claim herein sued on was presented to the court of county commissioners of said county, properly itemized, and verified by oath, for allowance, and that said claim was disallowed by said court of county commissioners, wherefore plaintiff sues and claims damages as aforesaid." The complaint was subsequently amended by adding thereto other counts in which the defects in the construction which rendered the bridge unsafe and insecure were specifically alleged. To both the original and the amended complaint the defendant demurred, among others, upon the following grounds: "(1) The right of action set out in the complaint is not such a right of action as survives to the personal representatives of the deceased under the statutes as the wrongful act, omission, or negligence of the county, its servants or agents, but is the wrongful act, omission, or negligence of the contractor who constructed said bridge. (2) The county is not such a corporation as contemplated in section 2589 of the Code of 1886, and the right of action set out in the complaint does not survive to plaintiff as administrator of the deceased. (3) For that the wrongful act, omission, or negligence complained of as causing the death of W. H. Shannon is, as appears from all the allegations of the complaint, the wrongful act, omission, or negligence of the contractor or contractors who built said bridge. (4) For that there is no statute that makes the defendant liable in damages for and on account of the facts averred. (5) For that no right of action is given against a county in and by section 2589 of the Code of Alabama of 1886, the same being section 27 of the Code of 1896." These demurrers were overruled, and the defendant duly excepted. Issue was joined upon the plea of the general issue. On the trial of the cause the evidence was undisputed, and showed the following facts: W. H. Shannon, the plaintiff's intestate, was injured by the falling in of a free, public bridge, and died the next day from the effects of his injuries. Said bridge had just been erected by contractors under a contract with the court of county commissioners. No guaranty by bond or otherwise was taken as provided by statute, and the bridge had only been thrown open to the public about...