Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-04-24
: Important Decisions

1 UNFAIR BUSINESS COMPETITION
4 An interesting case has been decided
| by the court of appeals of West vir-
GINA involving the liability for damage
done in the pursuance of an alleged
conspiracy to ruin the business of a
4 competitor The court holds that one
may, without liability, in furtherance OF
| his own interests in the competition
with another, and may induce custo-
mers of that other to withdraw their
! patronage from him in order to obtain
/ the business for himself, altho 1T injure,
and is intended to injure, the other per-
sons business, provided there is no
/ contract between such other person
and the customers. The motive of the
person SO doing, tho malicious, is not
material, if his acts are lawful The
court cities the case of the farmer who
dug hole cutting off underground
1 water which was accustomed to per-
colate and coze thru the lands of q
neighbour, and it was held that he was
not liable, tho he did the act with ma
| lice, for he had the right to use his
| land as he pleased. CIV. Va, Transp.
Co. VS.. Standard Oil Co., Chicago Legal
News, April 49,
ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.
An owner of a city lot, whose title
includes the fee of the street, may re-
strain an electric railway company
4 from laying it's tracks in the street in
front of his company until it has ac-
CURED from him. and paid for, the right
to do so. The right of the public to use
/ the street for street purposes does not
| include its use by an electric railway,
and such a use is an additional bur-
den to the property rights of the adj
/ joining owner "a N. Y. Law Journal,
4 1866. 81
AGREEMENT NOT TO PROSECUTE.
A young man had embeZzled money
from his employer. The father, in or
/ der that the matter should never be
heard of any more" gave the employer
n note to cover the money so embez-
lied, and the employer agreed to retain
| the son in his establishment for a
named period. The son committed a
| further embeZzlement, the note was not
| paid, and suit was brought on it. 1t
was held that a contract based on q
promise to conceal a crime which has
been committed is void, and the
amount due on the note could not be
| collected. Whenever a crime is com :
mitted, and especially one that involves
moral turpitude, the public good calls
for prosecution of the guilty party.
and any effort to prevent the punish
ment of the offender by suppression or
concealment is opposed to public pol
tcy.-31 Southern Rep. Gala, Judge
DowdelD, 719.
RIGHTS OF PASSENGERS
An assault by a street car conductor
en- passenger because the latter, after
being carried past his station, in order
to stop the car pulled the bell rope so
hard that he broke it, and jerked the
conductor several feet along the car
floor, is held, in recent Alabama case,
to render the company liable-54 Law
yers' Reports, TSP.
NEWSPAPERS.
statute prohibiting the letting Of
public printing to papers which have
been established less than year Is
held, by the supreme court of Califor-
MIA. to violate the constitutional pro-
vision that all laws of a general nature
shall have uniform operation, and that
no citizen shall be granted privileges
which upon the same terms shall not
be granted to all citizens.-54 Lawyers
ReportS I'LL n