August 1888: A judgment in ejectment in Breslin v. Britchford was enforced in Newark by the sheriff with help of a carpenter, who sawed off the corner of the defendant’s house in the presence of a curious crowd while the defendant delivered a violent harangue from the roof on the evils of the civil administration. “The writ of habere facias commanded the sheriff to put the plaintiff in possession, but it is a question how far the sheriff has a right to go, and how far he is obliged to go, in cutting off intruding buildings,” the Law Journal editors remarked.
100 Years Ago
August 1913: A groom who on the eve of his wedding hired a carriage and team from a livery stable to take him and his party to the church, but who was never picked up and had to take a public streetcar with considerable attendant delay, was entitled to recover not just out-of-pocket expenses but also damages for physical discomfort. “Certainly it is but common knowledge that some distress of mind must be the natural and proximate consequence of being delayed and not having proper conveyance to meet an appointment of such delicate nature,” the court said in Browning v. Fies.
