| Venue: | NY Ct. App |
| Facts: | Some guys are blasting a tree. A piece of wood flies onto a highway and kills the plaintiff's decedent. The blasters were being careful, though. |
| Posture: | Judgment for plaintiff at trial (no need to prove negligence). |
| Issue: | Are blasters liable for the consequences of their blasting? |
| Holding: | Yes, affirmed. |
| Rule: | The use of land is not an absolute right; it is qualified by the right
of others to use their property. The right to personal safety
trumps the right of a property owner to some particular use of
land.
Sic utere tuo [ut alienum non ladeas]: use what is yours in such a was as not to harm others. |
| Reasoning: | The victim was lawfully where she was, and personal safety is more sacred than property safety. This actually renders the enjoyment of property more secure by preventing neighbors from infringing on it. Also, accidental violence has the same effect on the victim as intentional violence. |
| Dicta: | |