Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / Nov. 4, 1954, edition 1 / Page 11
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This is the Law BY CHARLES W. DANIEL (For the N. C. Bar Association) “Attractive Nuisances” A unique segment of the North Car olina common law bears the name “At tractive Nuisance Doctrine” and some times operates to charge property owners with strict liability if small children are killed or hurt on their j property. Young children are known to be] strongly attracted by ponds of water, by trains and the like. The “Attrac-1 tive Nuisance Doctrine” comes into operation when a property ownrf maintains a condition or object which is reasonably calculated to attract or lure small children upon his propertyi and which involves unusual danger to! small children. In the 30-odd cases, which have arisen in North Carolina! on this subject, our Supreme Court 1 has thus far limited strict liability to four types of “attractive nuisances.”: They are: 1. Artificial rtonds c f water; 2. Charged electric wires: 3. Railroad turntables, and (oddly enough), 4. Dynamite caps. Strictly Accountable Very gently stated, the attractive j nuisance doctrine, as applied in North; Carolina, says that if a child (under, 12) is killed or hurt by one of these "attractive” things, the owner—under certain circumstances —will be held strictly accountable for the harm done. These circumstances, all of which must exist hefore the property owner can he held liable for accidents in volving children, are: 1. The owner must have been able to “foresee” that his property would attract children. (This requirement could be satisfied by the fact that in the past children had been accustomed to come on or play about his nronerty because of the “attractive nuisance”.) 2. The nature or condition of the propertv must; create an “unreason able” risk of death or bodily harm to an unwitting child. (It must have a hidden danger which probably is not obvious to a child under 12.) 3. The child, because of his youth, does not appreciate the danger. 4. The usefulness of the "attractive nuisance” to the owner must be out weighed by the possibility that young children might get hurt. Where the injured child is more than 12 years old, it is normally a question for the jury as to whether his own “negligence” should prevent a recov ery. To illustrate the application of these rules, let’s look at two actual North Carolina court cases. In the first, a little boy, not quite three years old, left home with his mother’s permission, and in the com- % G LENMORE ■y||jj| m « 86 proof GLENMORE DISTILLERIES COMPANY. LOUISVILLE. KY. GIVE PROPER SIGNALS FOR TURNS AND STOPS .... and keep your ear in tafe-driving condition of a/I times! pany of other children, for a nearby; I playground. Ine town railroad sta j tion was across the street from the ' playground. Near the station was a I small artificial pool of water. The j I youngster told the other kids he was going home and left in that direction. , His drowned body was later found in , the pool. The court denied recovery! ~ in a suit against the railroad for thej iboy’s death, saying “ . . . the evidence! does not make it appear that this un | fortunate occurrence was one which ! reasonably should have been anticipat- j ed and guarded against by the de-' fondant.” j In a similar case, a certain textile J 'mill maintained an artificial pool near| jits buildings. Children frequently fish-1 Sunshine Sue* ' •tar of WRVA’i “Old j I Dominion Barn Dance" says 3 \ ■ "You know, friends, I I just couldn't set a good table Bl | without Karo the full rich flavor of Karo makes my meals a big success Pour it on 7 biSCU ' ,# ' I®! rf a % 1 JL IMPOUND AND 3-POUND BOTTLES... S- AND 10-POUND CANS ™ I IHE CHOWAN HERALD. EDEN TON, N. 0„ THUHSI.a NOVEMBER 4, 1954. ed in it and chased tadpoles there. A child was accidentally drowned. At the trial, evidence was that the mill foreman on two on three occasions had tried to chase the kids away, but, the mill had not erected a fence or taken other precautionary steps at the pool. Our supreme Court, upholding a ver dict against the mill for the child’s death, said: “A person has the right to main tain an enclosed pond or pool on his premises. It is not an act of negli gence to do so. “When, however, he exercises this right and children of tender years are attracted thereto and it becomes a common resort of persons of tender years to which they go to play, and it appears that the owner knows or by the exercise of ordinary care should know that it is being so used, then it becomes his duty to exercise ordinary care to provide reasonably adequate | protection against injury. Failure so to do constitutes an act of negli gence.” So, in this second case, our court apparently felt that the mill owner should either have built a fence around the pond, or, else provided I some other adequate means of keep j ing the youngsters away from the danger. C'rossties Not “Attractive” J In still another case, a railroad pi' ed up some used crossties near its tracks, Children had been seen play- I ing on and near this pile. A six-year old was hurt by a falling tie. The | railroad was held NOT liable, the ; court saying that the timbers were not so dangerous nor so attractive in themselves as to place strict liability lon the railroad. It was said that a j curious, normal boy could make a ; plaything out of just about anything, 'and, for this reason, the court must 'l narrowly limit those instances in which i a property owner would be held liable sfsfs Question: How can I get the most benefit out of a few inches of rain? Answer: There are a number of farming practices that help hold wa ter and make it soak in the soil. Some of these practices are: contour culti vation, terracing, planting cover crops of green manure crops, chiseling or basin cultivation, and stubble mulch ing. Question: Does the use of lights in laying houses lower the hatchability of eggs. Answer: No. Contrary to popular when he had not been directly negli gent. Past cases indicate that North Car-1 olina will probably apply the Attrac-j tive Nuisance Doctrine very sparing ly and will limit it to cases where the injured child is under 12. ——Mli ——b ——mbi| e Trio *BB FORDS are coming... \ mm # n ° vember 12 f NOTICE TO Christmas Club Members | I —! * !: Our Christmas Club for 1954 will close Mon- ; M day, November 15, and payments cannot be jfjj| accepted after that date. | | To be sure you will receive the full amount j | ! | j|' for which you enrolled, all payments on your 11 1 Club account must be completed on or before I the closing date. Checks will be mailed to members on November 22. BUY UNITED STATES BONDS i f I THE BANK OF EDENTON j EDENTON. NORTH CAROLINA Safety for Savings Since 1894 MEMBER FEDERAL BESEBVB SYSTEM j MEMBER DEPOSIT INSURANCE COBPOBATION ; belief, the use of lights does not low er hatchability or the strength of the chicks. Question: Should I irrigate after harvest? Answer: Experts say yes; that ir rigating after harvest fills the soil reservoir for crops next season, starts your crop growing earlier, produces larger yield, helps winter cover, great ly improves the soil, uses fall labor, and may reduce the size of irrigation system you need all year. Question: How much beef can I expect to raise per acre of land? Answer: State College specialists say that 250 to 330 pounds of beef jean be produced per acre of good pas jture where steers are grazed. Question: What causes deformed calves? i Answer: Studies show that mostaround 72 days. SECTION TWO— I j deformed calves are caused by poor 'nutrition in the mother between the j third and sixth month of gestation. Deformed calves can he expected wherever cows have been confind on I poor feed or spent a long time on dry !feed. Question Does too close grazing of grass during the growing season in ■ fluence the stand? : Answer: Yes. Clipping one-half or more foliage during the growing sea ■ son causes grass roots to stop grow ing for a time after each clipping. ■ Removing 40 per cent or less doesn’t 1 slow the root growth, however. i Question: How much help can I get i in establishing a cover crop? Answer: Under provision Os the , 1955 Agricultural Conservation Pro i gram, cost sharing is provided on seed, lime, and commercial fertilizers where they are necessary, as well as the cost of preparing the seedbed. ; Question: How long should it take to get my broilers ready for market? Answer: If you take advantage of all the advances in breeding, nutrition, I and disease control, your broilers should be ready for the market in Page Three
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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Nov. 4, 1954, edition 1
11
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