3 F. 768 | U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Eastern Missouri | 1880
In July, 1877, the plaintiff shipped upon defendant’s railroad 248 head of cattle, at Bast St. Louis, consigned to Rankin & Thompson, at Buffalo, New York. The defendant’s line of railroad extends only as far east as Indianapolis, Indiana, and the cattle would, in order to reach Buffalo, pass over the defendant's line and that of several connecting lines. It is admitted that the cattle were transjiorted with safety, and without unnecessary delay, over the defendant’s road, and delivered to a connecting railroad to be taken on towards their destination, but it is claimed by plaintiff that after th§ cargo passed beyond the defendant’s road there was delay in the transportation, by which he is damaged and for which the defendant is liable) this, upon the ground that the defendant agreed to transport the cattle over the entire route to Buffalo. The plaintiff having closed his evidence in chief, the defendant moves for judgment, on the ground that the plaintiff’s proof does not establish a contract to carry through to Buffalo, but only a contract to carry over its own line and deliver to the next carrier.
The facts proved by plaintiff, so far as they hear upon the question of the character of the contract, are as follows: Plaintiff informed the agent of the defendant at East St. Louis that he desired to ship a lot of cattle to Buffalo, and inquired of said agent whether the defendant was shipping and would take the cattle for shipment. The agent replied that they
Plaintiff had been in the habit of shipping over defendant’s line to points beyond its terminus; and the arrangements made in this case wore similar to the previous transactions. Does this evidence establish a special contract on the part of the defendant to carry through to Buffalo? The supreme court of the United States lias twice laid down the rule that in the absence of a special contract the carrier in such a case is liable only to the extent of his own route, and for the safe storage and delivery to the next carrier. Railroad Co. v. Manufacturing Co. 16 Wall. 318; Railroad Co. v. Pratt, 22 Wall. 123. And the same doctrine prevails in most of the states, as will be seen by reference to the following, among other cases: Darling v. Railroad, 11 Allen, 295 ; Notting v. Railroad Co. 1 Gray, 502; Burroughs v. Railroad Co. 100 Mass. 26; Railroad Co. v. Berry, 68 Pa. St. 272; Root v. Railroad Co. 45 N. Y. 524; Babcock v. Railroad Co. 49 N. Y. 491; Converse v. Trans. Co. 33 Conn. 166; Perkins v. Railroad Co. 47 Me. 573; Bank v. Trans. Co. 23 Vt. 209; Bimtuall v. Railroad Co. 32 Vt. 673 ; Express Co. v. Rush, 24 Ind. 403 ; McMillan v. Railroad Co. 10 Mich. 119; Hoagland v. Railroad Co. 39 Mo. 451; and Coates v. Express Co. 45 Mo. 238.
It is clear that the first carrier may, by special contract, bind himself to carry freight over liis own and other lines to its final destination; but upon the question, what will amount to proof sufficient to establish such a contract ? there is more
It was held that these facts, in connection with the further fact that the plaintiff had been for many years in the habit of transporting horses over defendant’s road to Boston, and that a rate for the whole route was agreed upon and paid, would justify the jury in finding that there was an engagement to carry the horses through to Boston. It does not appear, from the report of that case, whether the first carrier was paid the price agreed upon for transportation over the whole route, but I infer that such was the case from the remark of the court that the “receipt of the entire pay affords a fair presumption of an entire contract.” In the present case the question is whether a special contract on the part of the defendant to carry through to Buffalo is established by proof that
If it had appeared in evidence that there was an arrangement between the several lines comprising the through route by which each wms the agent of all the others to solicit and ship freight over the combined through line, the case would have been very different, and I think that such proof would have been sufficient to make out a prima- facie case for the plaintiff. This for the reason that in such a case each of the several companies may be regarded as operating the whole line as if it was its owner, and therefore its contracts would be presumed to run to the destination of the freight anywhere upon such line, unless the contrary should appear. But, in the absence of any further showing, the naming of the through rate and knowledge of the destination of the freight are not enough.
Motion sustained.