HomeMy WebLinkAbout1931-08-28 Law Committee Minutes FI9 NE BW LDING
SAMUEL H. DAVIS
COUNSELLOR AT LRW
es EEi
BOSTON
August 28, 1931
Yx. W. Homer Morrison
Chairman, Law Committee
Municipal Building
Reading, Massachusetts
Dear Mr. Morrison:
I beg to report to your Committee upon the following
matters which have come up since my previous report.
A claim has been made against the Town by a George D.
Dinkel for damages to his property stored in the cellar of the
premises at 114 Salem Street. The damage was occasioned by water
which the claimant says came into his property from the highway.
The Board of Public Works report that on July 14, 1931 at 7 P. M. ,
there was an extraordinary rain storm and that when they were
called, they found there was 2 R of water in the cellar, std the
following morning the Superintendent with three men pumped out
the cellar, which is about three feet below the grade of the side-
walk on Salem Street. The amount of the damage , as claimed, is
X260.00, which in my opinion is somewhat exaggerated.
Ernest W. Fowler has made a claim against the Town for
personal injuries and property damage as a result of an accident
which occurred on June 10, 1931 on Prescott Street as a result of
an alleged defect in the highway. The `,later Department had just
completed laying a new 6" main on Prescott Street , and on account
of a heavy rainstorm on thatday, the trench had become soft and
Mr. W. Homer Morrison -2
Mr. Fowler' s car went into the soft earth, and one of the highway
trucks had to pull the car out of the trench. There was no police
report made of the accident and Mr. Fowler claimed that the left
front spring of his car was broken. Through his attorney, he now
claims personal injuries as well as property damage. The Superintendent
of the Board of Public Viorks has reported that the car was traveling
on the wrong side of the street , as the trench was dug on the North
side, Mr. Fowler should have been on the South side of the street.
There were no signs "Passable but Unsafe" , which are used by the Board
of Public Works in all construction work as they had been removed on
June 8th previous to the day of the accident. I have been unable to
secure a statement from the attorney as to the extent of the property
damage or personal injuries. In my opinion the injuries, if any, are
not very serious.
A Bill in Equity has been brought in the Middlesex Superior
Court by Moses Hagopian vs. Town of Reading and A. Russell Barnes,
Inspector of Buildings, seeking to have the vote of the Town, passed
on March 3, 1930, amending the Zoning Law by changing the area on South
Main Street from a business to a single residence district, declared
invalid and of no effect. Mr. Hagopian owns property on the Westerly
side of Main Street , between Percy Avenue and Summer Avenue. The
necessary pleadings in behalf of the Town have been filed in Court and
the case is now awaiting trial. Yhen Mr. Hagopian purchased the
property, the land was located in a business district and by reason
of the modification of the Zoning Law applying to this area, he
claims his property is of little or no value.
George Leduc of Southbridge makes claim against the Town for
Mr. W. Homer Morrison -3
an accident on Charles Street which occurred on August 3, 1931, in
which he claims damagesto his automobile by reason of the failure
of the contractor who is constructing the State road to put red lights
on the street while constructing a drain from the State road to a
ditch. I have reported this matter to the Department of Public Works
and also to the contractor , notifying them that the Town would hold
them responsible for any sums which it may have to pay out as a result
of the accident.
There are three suits against the Town which were commenced
October 30, 1929, as a result of an accident on High Street near Vine
Street because of an alleged defect in the highway. The suits were
brought by Benjamin Sefton for damage to his car, and by Eva M. Pearse
and Ruth Pearse for personal injuries. The defect complained of was
adjacent to the tracks of the railway and consisted of a depression
not more than 1P deep and not more than 8" wide. Suits arising from
the same accident have been commenced against the Eastern Massachusetts
Street Railway Company, and the Railway Company has settled their cases
for 475.00. Some time ago the Committee instructed me to try the cases,
but the same were not reached at that time and when they were finally
reached for trial, this last spring, the settlement was effected with
the Railway Company and I concluded it was for the best interests of
the Town to make a settlement on the same basis , namely, 475.00, and
I would therefore recommend that these cases be settled for 475.00.
I am making this report of the recent claims in accordance
with the By-law of the Town, but have no specific recommendation to
make because of the fact that I have been unable to secure any
Mr. W. Homer Morrison -4
proposition from the attorneys representing the claimants in some
of the above cases.
Yours very truly,
SHD:S Town Counsel