Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-07-30

penSatlOn, after the services were performed,
at such price and amount as, under all the cir
cumstances, the defendant should consider
right and proper-the defendant having de-
termined and fixed the amount pursuant to
the contract.
Hela, In the absence of fraul or bad faith
the amount so fixed is the measure of the
compensation to which the plaintiff is en-
titled
Held, further, That the mere fact that the
defendant fixed the compensation at an
amount considerably less than the trial court
found upon the evidence before it, theSservices
were reasonably worth, is not of itself suf
ficient to justify an inference of fraud or
bad faith.
The plaintiff having sued on guantun,
meruit, and the defendant having set up the
special contract, and the court below having
found that the defendant performed the spe-
cial contract, with respect to fixing the
amount of the plaintiffs compensation:
Held, That it must be presumed that evil
dence to prove such performance was intro
duced in the trial, without objection, notwith-
standing it is not alleged in the answer.
Judgment affirmed. CLARK, J..
Emma Flynn, respondent, VS.. Helen VI. Mes
senger, appellant.
Syllabus-The common law rule that a mar
ried woman living with her husband is pre-
sumed to have authority from him to order
such goods or services as are ordinarily re-
quired for family use, is not changed by the
statutes regulating the rights and liabilities
the wife knows she is married woman,
living with her husband, and the
order is of a character to
indicate that it is for the benefit of her hus-
| bands policy, he is bound to presume that
she is acting for her husband and cannot hold
| her personally liable unless she expressly
agrees to become so.
The employment of seamstresS for Ordi-
| nary domestic service in and for the benefit of
| within the rule respecting the presumptive
agency of the wife.
Judgment reversed. CLARK, j.
The State of Wisconsin, respondent, VS.. Louis
E Torinus ct al, appellants.
Syllabus-An agent of plaintiff only author
lied to sell for cash, in excess of his authority
sold and delivered to defendants the property
of his principal on credit, and took from them
promissoly note for the purchase price. His
authority being derived solely from the legis-
iaJure, his act could be only ratified by an act
of the legislature. In a former action between
these parties brought on this note, it was held
that the acts of the agent being without au-
tuOilhy, uctcI udViDS Detn Tdtlueu Oy the
| legislature of Wisconsin, were wholly VOID,
and conferred no right to the property upon
the defendants, and that the note, having NO
consideration to sustain it, was also void,
and therefore judgment was rendered
for defendants. Subsequently to the rem
dition of this judgment, the legislature of
Wisconsin passed an act ratifying and con-
| firming the acts of their agent and thereafter
| brought the present action to recover from
defendants the purchase price of the property,
| the defendants having retained possession of
| it and before this action converted it to their
own use.
Held, that the judgment in the former action
| is no bar to recovery in this action. That
| the "cause of action" in this case was created
| by the act of ratification referred to-, and ONLY
accrued at that date which was subsequent to
| the rendition of the Judgment in the former
| action. Therefore, although the subject
matter of litigation in both actions were
| the same, the "causes of action" were differ
! emit. That former adjudication never affects
after-acquired rights or precludes party
| from availing himself of them In a second
action. That the act of ratification referred
| to was valid. 1t did not assume judicial
| functions by attempting to annul Judgment
| of court, or to declare valid proceedings d.
rectly adjudged void, but simply ratified the
| acts of an agent SO as to consummate a con-
| tract which he had attempted to make in ex-
cess of his authority. Judgment affirmed.
MITCHELL, j.
John G. Mcclure, appellant, VS.. the city of
| Red Wing, respondent. Within the city of
Red Wing is ravine some three rods wide, on
either side of which is hill fifteen or twenty
| feet high. In the bottom of this ravine is a
well defined natural channel or water course
six to eight feet wide and from
four to five feet deep, Into this ravine center
two other ravines, each about mile and a
half long. The surface of the country drain
ed by these ravines is billy and broken In
time of rains or melting SHOWS all the water
from this tract of country flows down the
first named ravine, following the watercourse
or channel referred to, and emptying into the
Mississippi river. This is its only outlet. In
times of heavy rains or storms the volume of
water is often large and rapid. In the absence
OF snow or rain this channel is usually dry
The city of Red Wing laid out and
graded street along and across this ravine,
and in doing so damned lid and
obstructed the natural channel for this water,
and undertook to divert it into sewer which
they constructed under the street. Subse-
quently, in the case of heavy storm, this
sewer proved wholly inadequate to receive the
whole OF the water, and as a consequence it
flowed down the surface of the street in large
and destructive quantities upon the premises
of the plaintiff, which it would not have
reached but for the beforesaid acts of the de-
fendant.
Held, That whether this be "a nat
ural water course" within the legal meaning
of that term, or mere sssurface water, it has
many of the characteristics of the former and
must be governed to certain extent by the
rules of law applicable to natural water
courses, and the rules usually applicable to
ordinary surface water cannot be applied to-
such waters without material notifications
No one has q right to obstruct or divert the
flow of such water from its natural channel,
SO as to cast it upon the lands of others.
Also, that it was incumbent upon the de-
PENDANT in laying out and grading this street,
if itdeemed it necessary to obstruct the natural
channel and to divert the flow of the water
therefrOm into sewer, to use reasonable care,
skill and judgment in providing and construct
ing such sewer so as to make it adequate and
sufficient to carry off the water, so that it
would not be cast upon the property of 9TH
ers to their injury, and if it fail to use such
reasonable care, skill and judgment, and inju-
ries to others ensure therefrom, it would be
liable. That under the evidence the court
should have submitted this case to the Jury
to determine whether or not the defendant ex-
ercised such reasonable care and skill, and end
in dismissing the action.
A statute making resident or taxpayer of
a municipal corporation a competent juror in
all cases in which such corporation is a party,
does not impair the right of trial by jury,
guaranteed by section 4, article of the con-
stltution of Minnesota.
Ordor doOvinp O naw trial rouorcod