47 Iowa 262 | Iowa | 1877
The plaintiffs, merchants of the city of San Francisco, California, purchased certain goods of the Morgan Envelope Company, which were delivered for transportation by the consignors, at Springfield, Massachusetts, to the Hartford & New Haven Railroad Company. The cases containing the goods were marked to indicate that they were to be carried by defendant, and were to be delivered to the Chicago & Northwestern and the Pacific Railroad Companies for transportation over their roads on the route to San Francisco. The goods were transported by the Hartford & New Haven Railroad Company to New York City, the end of its line, and then delivered to defendant, and by it transported to Chicago, the termination of defendant’s line, and stored in a warehouse. On the day after they were received at Chicago, and while in the warehouse of defendant, the goods were consumed in the
The liability of defendant as a carrier upon receiving the goods, in the absence of an express contract, was fixed by the law. If that liability is limited in this case it must be on the ground of some contract which the law will presume was made upon the goods coming into the hands of defendant. The law will not presume such a contract unless a party be found who had the power to contract with defendant for the plaintiff, for it is a conceded fact the plaintiffs or their consignors made no such contract. Now it is not claimed that such a contract was in fact made for plaintiffs by the Hartford & New Haven Railroad Company. Had this company authority to so contract for plaintiffs? Clearly not. It was not plaintiffs’ agent for the purpose of transhipping the goods. The routes over which they were to be carried were clearly indicated by the directions on the packages. . It was -the duty of the Hartford & New Haven Railroad Company as a carrier, not as plaintiffs’ agent, to deliver the. goods to defendant. . Babcock v.
Such liability extended to and covered the loss of the goods by the fire.
The District Court rightly held, upon the facts established by the testimony, that the defendant is liable in this action.
Affirmed.