Smith v. Bell Tel. Co. Of Pennsylvania

397 Pa. 134, 153 A.2d 477 (1959)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In 1948, Bell Telephone had County Contracting and Construction Company build an underground conduit to carry telephone lines in Lansdowne, Pa. In 1950, after inspection Plaintiff purchased a house on Baltimore Ave. and then later discovered that there was a sewage leakage problem in his basement. In desperation for over 5 years, he sought out the problem of the sewage leakage and eventually discovered that the underground conduit laid in 1948 was the root cause of the problem; it had crushed the sewer lateral and was blocking it. P sued and after presenting his case was met with a compulsory nonsuit. The court claimed that P had not made out a prima facie case. P appealed.