96 Tenn. 677 | Tenn. | 1896
The defendant in error recovered a verdict and judgment in the Second Circuit Court of Shelby County against the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Co. for the sum of 1438.30, damages to a carload of hops. The railroad company appealed, and
As already observed, the present suit is alone against the delivering carrier. It is well settled in this State that although the initial carrier may be responsible for the entire transportation, any subsequent and auxiliary carrier is equally liable for any default occurring upon its line. Railroad v. Weaver, 9 Lea, 38; M. & C. R. R. Co. v. Holloway, 9 Bax., 188. And in the latter case it was held that the last of a series of connecting lines over which freight is transported is liable for loss or damage, subject to the 'limitations contained in the contract of shipment with first line, unless it appears that the loss did not occur on the road sued, and that the burden of° proof is upon said road to show that the loss did not 'occur on its line. Transportation
The Circuit Judge charged the jury correctly, “that in this state the last of a connecting line of carriers is liable for the loss or damage to freight, if lost or damaged while in transport over said last connecting line, and the burden of proof is upon the last connecting line to show that the loss or damage did not occur through the negligence of the officers or agents of the said last connecting line of road.” It is not controverted that this charge was in entire accord with our authorities, but it is assigned as error that the trial Judge submitted to the jury the following instructions, to wit: “If you find from the evidence that the safe transportation of hops required rain-proof cars, and if you find further that the loss occurred to plaintiff through the failure of the first, or any connecting carrier, to furnish such cars, then the defendant is liable.”
Again, the following instruction is assigned as error, for the reason that it embodies the same objectionable feature, to wit: “If the proofs satisfy you as to these two points, the plaintiff has made out a prima fade case, and you should find for it unless the defendant has proven to your satisfaction that it was in no .way negligent, and that the damage to the hops did not occur on its line or did not occur through means of a defective car furnished by itself or connecting carriers.”
The proof showed that the hops in question had
For the error indicated the judgment is reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial.