Robertson v. Sichel, 127 U.S. 507 (1888)
U.S. Supreme Court
Robertson v. Sichel, 127 U.S. 507 (1888)
Robertson v. Sichel
No. 269
Argued and Submitted May 1, 1888
Decided May 14, 1888
127 U.S. 507
ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED
STATES FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
Syllabus
A collector of customs is not personally liable for a tort committed by his subordinates in negligently keeping the trunk of an arriving passenger on a pier instead of sending it to the public store, so that it was destroyed by fire where there is no evidence to connect the collector personally with the wrong or that the subordinates were not competent or were not properly selected for their positions
This is an action at law, brought in the city court of the City of New York, by Emilie Sichel, an infant, by Joseph Sichel, her guardian ad litem, against William H. Robertson, collector of customs for the port and collection district of New York, and removed by the defendant into the Circuit Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York.