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Show Reader's Courtroom Ponderous Pachyderm Something Impossible One Mistake Allowed I By Will Bernard, LL.B. State laws vary. For personal guidance, see vour local attorney. 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 byx city officials, led over an old wooden bridge. One spring day, during the parade, everything went along fine until 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. 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!" Does One Mistake Make a Girl "Incorrigible?" A young girl, abandoned by her parents, was sent by state authorities authori-ties to live with a private family. After awhile, she met a young man who resided in the neighborhood and soon fell in love with him. One night, she ran away from her foster home and got married to the youth. Police later picked her up and sent her to an institution for "incorrigible" "incor-rigible" girls. However, when the matter was aired ' in court, the judge ordered the girl released. The judge said: "We find here only a single act of disobedience as the basis for the charge of delinquency. This is not enough. A child is not 'incorrigible' who disobeys only once." 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 aheadl" After driving a SSrSf' STRAIGHT JPP- l;:;'Lr- 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! The owner of a candy store kept a large plateful of "sample pieces" on the counter as an accommodation ac-commodation to his customers. One day, while the salesgirls were all busy, a woman slipped the entire en-tire contents of the plate into her purse and started to leave. But another customer noticed the action, ac-tion, and summoned a policeman who arrested the woman on a charge of theft. At the trial, she argued that there was nothing wrong In taking candy that was free. But she was found guilty. |
