ACCIDENT - The happening of an event
without the concurrence of the will of the person
by whose agency it was caused or the happening of
an event without any human agency; the burning of
a house in consequence of a fire being made for the
ordinary purpose of warming the house which is an
accident of the first kind; the burning of the same
house by lightning would have been an accident of
the second kind.
It frequently happens that a lessee covenants to
repair, in which case he is bound to do so, although
the premises be burned down without his fault. But
if a penalty be annexed to the covenant, inevitable
accident will excuse the former, though not the latter.
Neither the landlord nor the tenant is bound to rebuild
a house burned down, unless it has been so expressly
agreed.
In chancery jurisprudence accident signifies such
unforeseen events, misfortunes, losses, acts or omissions,
as are not the result of any negligence or misconduct
in the party.
Jeremy defines it as used in courts of equity to
be 'an occurrence in relation to a contract, which
was not anticipated by the parties, when the same
was entered into, and which gives an undue advantage
to one of them over the other in a court of law.'
This definition is objected to, because as accident
may arise in relation to other things besides contracts,
it is inaccurate in confining accidents to contracts;
besides, it does not exclude cases of unanticipated
occurrences, resulting from the negligence or misconduct
of the party seeking relief.
In general, courts of equity will relieve a party
who cannot obtain justice in consequence of an accident,
which will justify the interposition of a court of
equity. The jurisdiction being concurrent, will be
maintained only, first, when a court of law cannot
grant suitable relief; and, secondly, when the party
has a conscientious title to relief.
Many accidents are redressed in a court of law; as
loss of deeds, mistakes in receipts and accounts,
wrong payments, death, which makes it impossible to
perform a condition literally, and a multitude of
other contingencies; and many cannot be redressed
even in a court of equity; is if by accident a recovery
is ill suffered, a contingent remainder destroyed,
or a power of leasing omitted in a family settlement.
