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Torts Keyed to Miller
Kopka v. Bell Telephone Co.
Citation:
91 A.2d 232 (Pa. 1952)Facts
Kopka (Plaintiff) filed suit against Bell Telephone Co. (Defendant) after sustaining injuries from falling into a hole carved out by Defendant. At the request of residents of a township in Indiana County for telephone service the Defendant had its engineers stake out a line along a road bordering the farm of Plaintiff. It then proceeded to obtain rights-of-way from property owners along the road upon which the line was to be constructed, but no such right was obtained from the plaintiff. Defendant drilled holes, one of which was dug inside the road on plaintiff’s property; in this hole there was to be placed an anchor rod supporting a guy wire for bracing one of the poles. Plaintiff was informed by a neighbor about it and went out to investigate, it having been dug without his permission or knowledge. It was in the latter half of the afternoon of a cloudy day and starting to get dark. While walking around to find the hole plaintiff’s left leg slipped into it with the result that he allegedly sustained certain injuries.
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