The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-03-01

. tNt Nic 5t.)n - l3i%cN whether or
not Il county may be sued civi!ly fUr
Injuries TO person or property result
ihg from the failure Of county com-
miSsioncrS to keep improper repair The
! highways in thc county.
The several duties imposed upon
county commissioners are fixed by
statute, specifying, inter 0liu, that
/ "thc county commissioners shall take
charge Of and keep in repair the high
ways in thc county," &c, &c, &c.
Docs the imposition Of this duty
imply H!iAbiii;y for failing to pcriorm
il: They aye clearly inhictablc in the
criminal courts for official mal-lras-
arcc or non-ica&amcr, hut is there All
implied liability in civi! action?
Are ;lcy, representing the county in q
corroraI" cNpacily, liable in Il civil ac-
| ton ior damages for neglect of, or
| failure to discharge, 4 statutory duty,
unless the liability is fixed by statute?
This substantially is tho ONLY uucs-
iioh lor us to determine, and we arc
necessarily led TO consider The corpo-
rate chasNc;Cr OF cuuntirS, and the
extent OF their corporate capacity. 4
count y Sis al Involuntary political or
ciFil HiHi@lon of The State, created By
Statute 10 aid in Che administration OF
government. Whatever Of power il
possesses, or whatcvcr OF duty it is
required 10 perform ori~in.tcd in lhc
> ",uic creating ill., -ls1'cm W. jIa|c
E0""fy, II Ma, G30.I 1t is in its
'cr! nature, character &Hd purposes, L
governmental auxiliary, rather than
" corporation proper. 1t is purely a
siHsu~oiy creature, and no common
law obligation whatever rests upon
the commissioners. In considering lhc
cor OraiC character Ui Il cOUniy, aid
the extent UI Us corporate capacity, IL
Is c~Sr!iN:I 10 kccp coNtjnuaIiy in
imiiH ti:r bGNHN Nisti:,c iDl existing be-
tween niuntcIp;i. corpUrU;iol$ piUptr,
HncA as towns or ci,ic, Speciality r.E,r-
!llvU oi' Eo!un,;riiy organizing under
general ncl~, Hlii involuntary quasi
Ic'rporHilonS, = such as townships,
school districts aud counties, and t..c
peculiar organization called "towu"
';nuci' iilc Ncw Eu"saud system. With
respect 10 i:!G laiirr; tiMt is, involuu-
tar! qn'jSi corporations, such as couu-
ties. &C., Judge D.liol, in his tr cat$e
oh ''lhc Law q, Munlcipai Corroru-
lions, SHyS: "in the United States
there is no cUlunoI lazy obligation
resting upon ;iIc.i corpiA;ions to repair
highways, ,tgcCtS or bridges Within
Lacir lin,i,S, ;,nh ,hey are no: ob,iacu
20 ho 50 U:I.1#a py force OF siatuic.
.E"n WNrN thc Legislature cij"ins
upnn corpjra,iona ut l..is character
;n2 Hui! 10 make an,t repair roads,
streets ;tnN bridges, "ii;l cnuiv!'5 itlu
power 10 levy take, therefor, the
genera tenor ui' iIG DECISIONS is TO
treat this II: Il pHJiic and not as Il cuf-
pof,'tc uuIy, and ID regard these cor
porH;iolS, in ihis lc>lcct, as public
or state a,c@uvi">, and noi liable 10 be
SIci ciVil!y i0r damages ruuScd by t!!c
n"giyrt 10 pnT:UriA ti.$ Hnty. Unless
thc action nc expressly given by Stu,-
uc." :! Dillon on Municipal Curpo-
raiioa@, 1@".l in iiedyes vs. Ntii~
SO" CoHMty, Giiin. Giiinois), IS, il
Wab acid that cJin les We're not iiahic
10 Il private ;iciion for detective Iii, ;h-
ways. In NOrcr VS.. Leicester, .
NA~S., 2iI, The court held that II town
\5o-caliGU) Was lioi liable in 4 com
mon law ac!ion for damages sustained
by aN inaiY;dHat through defect in
tnH highways OF Tie town; and tie
principle wa, established by numerous
IcciSiuns Al an carly day in MaSsuchu-
set, that, in order 10 subject towns TO
Il CIVIL action in favor OF All Individual
for ncgrc; i'll respect to their public
du les, though en- oincu by si.,tuye.
the Legislature must expressly give
the right OF ACTION.
TO appreciate The full force Of these
decisions. we must bear in mind that
the toWns thctcinS polen Of stand upon
the same corporate footing as our
countic&.
~ the light Of the decisions above
referred to, and thosc hereinafter cited,
ihc conclusion is Irresistible that Il
county, rs organized under our system,
is NOT Liable in civil action unless
mado SO by statute, and that in The
absence OF an express statutory pro-
vision, II can moi be sued ciyilly for
| damages sustained By reason OF the
failure or refusal Of It's commissioners
to repair lis highways. There is no
such provision in the statutes Of This
State, and hence civil action will not
lic.
In support Of the conclusions reach
cd in the case under consideration, the
following decisions may be cited: 36
Alabama, 3G2; III Alabama, III;
10 Alabama, l7G; l3 Alabama, Gl3;
Al Georgia, 225; 8 Bush Nicntucky),
7Oi; 90 Illinois, 3iG; 5S Illinois, 297 !;
rs Iowa, 2G7. Also, Chose cited above