Case Name: Gay v. State
Court: Tennessee Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Tennessee
Decision Date: 1891-10-31
Citations: 90 Tenn. 645
Docket Number: 
Parties: Gay v. State.
Judges: 
Reporter: Tennessee Reports
Volume: 90
Pages: 645–646

Head Matter:
Gay v. State.
(Knoxville.
October 31, 1891.)
Nuisance. Erroneous charge.
The stench from several hog-pens located in the same neighborhood constituted a nuisance. Gay owned only one of the pens. The evidence was conflicting as to whether the stench from his pen alone was a nuisance.
Held: The Court erred in charging, as applicable to these facts, that “if the jury find that the smell created by the defendant’s pen was not sufficient within itself to constitute a nuisance, yet it contributed with other pens in the neighborhood to forming a nuisance, the defendant would be guilty.”
F110M KNOX.
Appeal in error from Criminal Court of Knox County. S. T. Logan, J.
W. C. Cain for Gay.
Attorney-general Pickle for State.

Opinion:
Lea, J.
The plaintiff in error was indicted and convicted of a nuisance in keeping and maintaining a liog-pen in a filthy condition. There were several witnesses who proved it was a nuisance. There were several who proved that the pen was kept remarkably clean, and was no nuisance ; and several proved that, if there was a nuisance, it was caused by a number of hog-pens in the neighborhood.
His Honor, among other things, charged the jury: "If the jury find that the smell'created by the defendant's pen was not sufficient within itself to constitute a nuisance, yet it contributed with other pens in the neighborhood to forming a nuisance, the defendant would be guilty."
This was error. The defendant can only be held liable for the consequences which his act produced. The nuisance complained of must be the natural and direct cause of his own act.