Calvin Seavey v. Melvin Preble
Maine Supreme Judicial Court
84 Me. 120 (1874)
- Written by Haley Gintis, JD
Facts
Melvin Preble (defendant) was employed as a city physician during a smallpox outbreak. Pursuant to his duty of preventing the transmission of smallpox, Preble ordered Calvin Seavey (plaintiff), who had contracted the disease, to remove the wallpaper from his home. Preble believed that the virus had come into contact with the wallpaper because the wallpaper had been soiled with Seavey’s spit. Seavey, who was also a physician, believed removing the wallpaper was unnecessary to prevent the spread of smallpox. However, Seavey removed the wallpaper per Preble’s request and filed an action against Preble in a Maine trial court to recover the cost of replacing the wallpaper. Seavey introduced expert testimony from multiple physicians who also believed the request was unnecessary. In contrast, Preble introduced expert testimony from multiple physicians, as well as the city nurse who had been caring for Seavey, all of whom testified that the wallpaper’s removal was necessary to prevent the transmission of smallpox. The jury awarded Seavey $35 to replace the wallpaper. The matter was appealed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Walton, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
