193 Mo. App. 677 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1916
This is a snit for damages arising ont of a shipment of strawberries from Independence, Louisiana, to Kansas City, Missouri. It was brought under the Carmack Amendment against the' initial carrier. The petition did not charge negligence but was based upon the common-law liability of a carrier for failure to deliver in good condition, which liability the Amendment imposes upon the initial carrier without regard to whether the injury occurred on its line or not.
The contract of shipment contained a provision for notice of loss, which provision reads as follows:
‘ ‘ Claims for loss, damage or delay must be made in writing to the carrier at the point of delivery or at the point of origin within four months after delivery of the property. Unless claims are so made the carrier shall not be liable. ”
The petition alleged all the facts necessary to establish an interstate shipment, and that the berries were delivered to defendant, the initial carrier, in good condition but when they arrived in Kansas City and were delivered to the plaintiff consignee they were in
The defendant introduced no evidence but stood on 'a demurrer offered to the evidence of plaintiff. Its sole defense is that the notice plaintiff gave of hts loss did not comply with the above quoted clause of the shipping contract. The point of defendant’s objection is that the notice given by plaintiff was of a claim for damages “on account of delay” and for this reason plaintiff was precluded from suing upon any other ground.
The shipment arrived April 7, 1911, and on the same day plaintiff paid the freight bill. The agent of the Missouri Pacific Railway, being the delivering or terminal carrier, made a notation on the freight bill “berries mildewed and some decay.” On the same day, April 7, 1911, plaintiff served upon the Missouri Pacific Railway Company a written notice which read as follows:
“You are hereby notified that a consignment of ■648 cases of strawberries, loaded in car I. C. 59435, arrived at your station about 11 o’clock a. m. this date, '■over the .Missouri Pacific Railway, said car having been started from originating point on the 3rd.
We are greatly damaged financially by cause of unreasonable delay in transportation caused by the negligence of said Missouri Pacfic Railway Company and connecting carriers.'
As owners of said merchandise, or as representatives of said owners, we hereby make claim and demand upon said Missouri Pacific Railway Company,*680 and all interested connecting carriers for tlie sum of three hundred dollars, $300, damages by reason of the premises.
If, on final disposition of this consignment, the loss shall prove more or less than $300, we will so advise you and amend claim accordingly.”
' On May 9,1911, or within a day or two thereafter (being only a little over a month after-delivery), the plaintiff served upon the, Missouri Pacific Railway another written claim “for damages account of delay” setting out all the facts consignee knew concerning the shipment and damage. This written claim gave the date of shipment, by whom and to whom shipped, the place the shipment originated, the destination thereof, the routing, the number and initials of the car, and the exact hour and day of its arrival. This written claim also gave the original price of the berries, the amount realized on the sale thereof, and stated that plaintiff claimed damages for the difference between the amount paid for the berries and the amount realized for their sale, which difference was stated to be $443.70. (This was the amount sued for.) 'The claim also referred to the above mentioned Expense Bill of freight as being attached thereto. This Expense Bill, attached to said claim, bore on its face the notation hereinabove stated hs made by the Missouri Pacific Freight Agent, to-wit, “berries mildewed and some decay.” The terminal carrier, the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, acknowledged receipt of this claim by postal card May 13', 1911.
The purpose of requiring notice is to give the carrier a fair opportunity to investigate the merits of the alleged loss so that unjust claims may be thwarted; to give the carrier an opportunity to investigate the merits of the claim when the facts are fresh and .the information is readily obtainable. [Equity Elevator Co. v. Union Pacific R. Co., 177 S. W. 773; Pecos etc. R.
It will he observed that both of the two notices given were within the time required hy the contract. It will also he observed that the notice, at least the last one, clearly showed that the loss or damage claim1 ed was on account of the condition of the terries when delivered. The second notice referred to the expense hill attached, and it said, in a notation placed thereon hy the terminal carrier’s agent, “berries mildewed and some decay.” The damaged condition of the berries was, therefore, the subject of the plaintiff’s claim. The carrier, being notified-of the condition of the berries and that this was the subject of the claim, had every opportunity to investigate the facts of such condition, and to inquire into evéry possible cause of such condition for which the carrier would or would not be liable. The fact that the shipper in said notice stated what he thought was the cause did not mislead the carrier so as to induce it to overlook or lose any evidence of any possible defense it might have. Be
It follows that the judgment must be affirmed. It is so ordered.