AREA: Act of God
FACTS:
The defendant was the proprietor of the motion picture establishment. On the roof was a structure of steel frame intended to carry advertising designs. Instead of pasting paper posters on the iron sheeting, the defendant started displaying a wooden framed banner without firmly securing it. It was secured by a cheap coir rope and the lower portion of the banner did not rest on the ground.
One day the wooden framed banner fell on the plaintiff, who was passing along the pavement of the public road below. The frame stuck his head, sustained a cut, and took a few weeks to recover and resume duties.
The plaintiff’s case is that the banner would not have fallen but for the defendant’s negligence in not having it properly secured.
Defendant contended that due care was taken on his part and the banner fell because of the storm of unusual severity which occurred in the afternoon of the day of the accident.
ISSUE:
Can the defendant claim an act of god?
JUDGMENT:
i. Defence of act of god was not tenable in the present case.
ii. A storm of the said velocity can not be said to be unexpected in a place like Calcutta in monsoon season and hence not to be regarded as act of god.
iii. There was negligence on the part of the defendant as proper care was not taken to secure the banner in a way to prevent it from being blown away into the street during monsoons.
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