Smith v. City of Los Angeles

This action was brought to recover four thousand dollars’ damages for injuries to plaintiffs’ land caused by an excavation made in the street adjoining the land. The court below, sitting without a jury, found the damages to be seven hundred and fifty dollars, and rendered judgment for plaintiffs in that amount. Defendants appeal from the judgment and from an order denying their motion for a new trial.

It is conceded that the excavation in question damaged the land and constituted a legal injury to the respondents; and we are satisfied that the amount of damages found by the court was fully warranted by the evidence. But it is contended by appellants that the city was not so connected with the acts complained of as to make it legally liable for the damage.

Sand Street in the city of Los Angeles crosses the street called Broadway; and respondents’ lot of land in question is on the northwest corner of the intersection of said streets. Before the occurrences involved here the two streets had been graded to the official grade, and the grade of Sand Street was about forty feet lower than that of Broadway, so that on the north side of the former street where it crosses the latter there…