Opinion

Caldwell v. Slade

  • 156 Mass. 84
  • 30 N.E. 87
  • 1892 Mass. LEXIS 139
Court
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Filed
Feb 26, 1892
Status
Published
Author
Lathrop
On the bench
Lathrop
Cited by
6 cases
Authority
More cited than 88.9%

The opinion

Lathrop, J.

The hole in the floor through which the plaintiff fell was used for the passing of boards and other material from that floor to another. Although no cover had ever been made for the hole, and no scuttle constructed to cover it, it was usually covered by pieces of plank. The accident does not appear to have been caused by any insufficiency in the cover, but was owing to the fact that the hole was not at that time covered *86 at all. The case does not, therefore, come within the doctrine of Dalay v. Savage, 145 Mass. 38 .

The hole cannot be said to be a nuisance in and of itself. It was obviously necessary for the business of the occupier; and the fault, if any, was that -of the tenant, in not having it guarded or covered, or in not giving warning at the time the plaintiff was using the building. Mellen v. Morrill, 126 Mass. 545 . Clifford v. Atlantic Mills, 146 Mass. 47, 49 .

The plaintiff further contends that a duty was imposed on the defendants by the St. of 1888, c. 367, §§ 3, 4. These sections amend §§ 108 and 109 respectively of the St. of 1885, c. 374, and they relate to shafts or hoistways for freight or passenger elevators, and have no application to the case before us. Exceptions overruled.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.