Lesson # 318 (part six, PIT part 4) •Damage caused by a Pit (BOR) As stated in previous lessons, the topic of “pit” is a very wide topic and covers so many aspects of our daily lives. A few days ago I was walking on King George Street and saw a man trip on a crack in the sidewalk. I offered to help him up but he got up by himself and got into a cab that sped away. Had he remained I might have interviewed him for this lesson and asked him how he felt about tripping in a BOR BIRSHUT HARABIM a pit in the public domain, a topic about which I was writing. This lesson begins with a discussion of a pit involving more than one person. Let’s say that Reuven finds a pit dug by Levi, covers the pit, and then uncovers it. Levi is liable for damages caused by the pit and Reuven is not liable. This holds true even if Levi sees Reuven covering the pit and does not see Reuven take the cover off the pit. However, if Reuven had filled the pit dug by Levi with earth and then removed the earth, Reuven is liable for damages caused by the pit and not Levi. The reason is, that as soon as Reuven filled the pit with earth, Levi’s original act is deemed undone. This holds true even if Levi does not know that Reuven filled the pit with earth. Assume that Reuven and Levi jointly own a parcel of real estate and both dig a well on the parcel. Reuven draws water from the well without covering it. Levi then draws water from the well and also does not cover it. Reuven continues to be liable for the pit since he left it uncovered when he left. However, if when Reuven left he handed the cover to Levi, Reuven is no longer liable for damages that Shimon may suffer when his animal falls into the well; only Levi is liable if he does not cover it. If Reuven covers the pit and then Levi finds it uncovered and does not cover it, Levi is liable. Levi remains solely liable until the point in time that Reuven learned of the pit being uncovered and has had time to cover it or to engage workmen to make a cover and cover it. If Shimon’s animal falls into the pit during this time interval only Levi is liable; once such time interval has passed, both Reuven and Levi are liable. Reuven is the sole owner of the pit that he left uncovered. Levi, a non-owner of the pit, comes along, covers it and then uncovers it. Thereafter Shimon’s animal falls into the pit. Reuven is liable and Levi has no liability. There is an opinion that holds that if Reuven was informed that Levi had covered the pit, Reuven no longer has responsibility until he is informed that Levi had uncovered it. A second opinion holds that even if Reuven knew that Levi had covered the pit he is still liable if Levi uncovers the pit, even if he had not been advised the Levi had uncovered it. However, if Levi fills the pit with earth and then removes the earth, Reuven is not liable for any damages the pit might cause. Reuven, the sole owner of the pit turns a pit over to Levi to guard. Levi becomes liable for any damages that the pit causes, even if Reuven entrusted the pit without a cover on it. However, if Levi is mentally incompetent or a minor, Reuven continues to be responsible. Sometime there may be more than one factor that combines with another to cause the damage. Aaron’s ox pushes Shimon’s ox into Reuven’s pit and Shimon’s ox is killed. There are many scenarios as to the damage depending upon whether Aaron’s ox was a forewarned ox or an innocuous ox (remember from many lessons ago?) This is one of the many questions raised in jointly causing damage by pit. There are subcategories of pit. For example, a knife, a stone, a package, a bundle of straw (these are the traditional examples) and almost any type of object that is placed by Reuven in a public street. If such an object causes injury to a person or death or injury to an animal tripping over it or banging into it, Reuven is liable. Reuven is liable even if he did not place the objects in the public street. For example, Reuven places an object on his roof and a normal wind blows the object from his roof onto the street. This is similar to the pit cause of injury, since the object rests and does not move from the place in the street where the wind blew it. Shimon thereafter trips over the object. Reuven is liable if Shimon is injured or if Shimon’s animal is injured or killed by tripping over the object. Reuven is liable even if he renounces ownership of the object that is in the public street. Assume, however, the object is blown from Reuven’s roof by an extraordinary wind and lands in a public street. If the object causes damage while in flight, or even after it lands but there is not sufficient time for Reuven to retrieve the object from the street, Reuven is not liable for injury caused. The amount of time that is deemed sufficient is for Beth Din to determine in each case. Beth Din must determine if Reuven could remove the object by himself or must hire workers to remove a large object from a public street following a hurricane or tornado. After such time has elapsed, Reuven is liable for injury caused by his object. However, if Reuven renounces ownership of the object blown by an extraordinary wind he is not liable for injuries occurring thereafter. Reuven’s object falls from his roof with an ordinary wind and lands in the public street or Reuven himself places the object in the public street. The object causes no injuries in that place. However, the object is kicked by people or animals and it rolls to another place where it comes to a rest. And there it causes injury. Reuven is liable for the injury. The person or animal that kicks the object is not the direct cause of the injury caused to Shimon’s ox. It could be argued that perhaps if they had not kicked the object and it had remained in its original place it would not have caused the injury, Reuven is nevertheless liable because he is the original cause of the injury. Shimon kicks Reuven’s object and while it is rolling about, it causes injury. Shimon is liable for the entire injury. The subject matter of this lesson is more fully discussed in volume X chapter 411 of A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law by E. Quint. Copies of all volumes can be purchased via email: orders@gefenpublishing.com and via website: www.israelbooks.com and at local Judaica bookstores. Questions to quint@inter.net.il [The Parshat Bo Homepage]
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