195 Iowa 300 | Iowa | 1922
The more serious question in the case as presented to us is whether the court properly withdrew from the jury the second count, and we turn first to that question. The rule of duty and liability of a warehouseman is set forth in Section 3138-a21 of the Supplement to the Code, 1913, as follows:
“A warehouseman shall be liable for any loss or injury to the goods caused by his failure to exercise such care in regard to them as a reasonably careful owner of similar goods would ex.ercise, but he shall not be liable, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, for any loss or injury to the goods which could not have been avoided by the exercise of such care.”
We see no escape, therefore, from the conclusion that the trial court erred in withdrawing from the jury the second count of the petition and the issue of negligence.
We see little occasion to review the record in other respects. The alleged breach of the special agreements and the alleged negligence are so closely related and interwoven in the evidence in the case that it would be very difficult to discuss one without prejudging the other. For the reason indicated, the judgment below must be reversed, and a new trial granted. — Reversed and remanded.