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Show . THE READER'S COURTROOM . Hake Bridges Safe for Elephants By Will Bernard, LL.B 1 If an Elephant Falls Through a Bridge, Is the City Liable? Every spring a travelling circus stopped in a certain small town to put on its show. The day before the opening, the company would stage a parade headed by a five-ton elephant. ele-phant. The parade route, which was approved by city officials, led over an old wooden bridge. One spring day, during the parade, everything went along fine until Are the Parents to Blame If a Child Runs into the Street? A mother told her five-year-old son to play in his room until she finished cooking dinner. After a few minutes, the boy became bored. He slipped out of the house and ran into the street right in front of a speeding car. The youngster young-ster was killed, and his parents later sued the driver for recklessness. reckless-ness. The man tried to shift the blame onto the boy's mother, saying say-ing it was her own fault for letting the child run into the street. However, How-ever, the court felt otherwise and held the motorist liable. .The judge said that parents can't be expected to keep their children under lock and key or watch them every single instant. His Honor commented: comment-ed: "Parents are not required to do the impossible!" Should a Policeman Ride On Your Running Board To Guide You to the Hospital? A woman stopped her sedan alongside a traffic officer and said: "I'm taking my aunt to the hospital. Could you tell me how to get there?" The policeman jumped onto the running board and cried: "Straight ahead!" After driving a the animals came to the bridge. The elephant took a few steps into the structure, when all of a sudden it cracked beneath his weight. The huge beast dropped through the hole to a road below, and rolled over dead. The owner of the circus cir-cus later sued the town for the value val-ue of the elephant. The local officials offi-cials insisted that anybody who puts an elephant on a bridge does so at his own risk, but the court disagreed. Holding the town liable, the judge said that a public bridge should be kept safe for any proper and lawful use thereof. A wealthy manufacturer gave his church a gift a huge iron bell. Grateful church officials began using us-ing the bell not only for services bu. also to toll the hours. From early morning to late at night, the mighty chimes rolled out over the neighborhood. Some of the neighbors neigh-bors found this very annoying, and finally one home owner took the matter to court. He complained that the chimes woke his children, drowned out conversation, and even shook his house. The court ordered its clamor stilled. few blocks, the woman made a sharp stop at a corner and the policeman po-liceman tumbled off breaking his leg. Later he sued the woman for damages, but the court turned down his claim. The judge said that even a policeman shouldn't risk riding on the running board, when it would be just as easy for him to get inside! |