David Kellerman & Son v. Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad

68 Mo. App. 255, 1894 Mo. App. LEXIS 538
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 20, 1894
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 68 Mo. App. 255 (David Kellerman & Son v. Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
David Kellerman & Son v. Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad, 68 Mo. App. 255, 1894 Mo. App. LEXIS 538 (Mo. Ct. App. 1894).

Opinion

Smith, P. J.

The plaintiffs’ petition alleged inter alia that ‘ defendant corporation, a common carrier, received from plaintiffs onboard of its cars a thoroughbred Shorthorn bull of the value of $250, which defendant agreed, in consideration of the regular tariff rate per car to be paid, to transport from Maryville to St. Joseph; that defendant never carried the bull to the place of destination, nor was said bull ever delivered'to plaintiffs, but had ' been wholly lost to plaintiffs through the negligence of defendant.

Defendant answered denying that it had neglected to perform its duty as a common carrier in the transportation of the bull, and alleged that while transporting said bull with due care said bull died in its car while in transit, and for that reason was not delivered at the place of destination. The answer further alleged that the bull was shipped under a special contract whereby it was expressly agreed that the value of the bull should not exceed the value of $50, and that in case of loss, whether resulting from accident or negligence of defendant, the defendant did not assume a liability to exceed the valuation of $50, etc.

In the replication plaintiffs admitted that their agent signed a contract for shipment prepared by the agent of defendant, but plaintiffs state that such contract was prepared without any suggestion, statement or word from plaintiffs or their agents as to the value of said bull. That defendant did not inquire as to value nor did plaintiffs fix it. That no agreement was made as to the rate based upon reduction. That the rate of freight was not fixed, but same was to be settled at destination.

[261]*261The following stipulation was entered into by the parties: It is agreed by and between the parties to this suit, that the following facts may be considered as admitted by both parties at the trial of this case. First. That on the twentieth day of July, 1892, the defendant, at its station at Maryville, Missouri, received of plaintiffs one thoroughbred bull, to be transported by the defendant over its railroad from Maryville to Kansas City, Missouri, as a common carrier. Second. That said animal was tied in the end of the car, with the end and the side doors of the car left open for ventilation, the day being extremely warm. Third. That such shipment was made by Frank Bellows & Son for rhe plaintiffs, under a contract of shipment then executed and signed by the parties, and which is hereto attached and made part hereof. Fourth. That after said bull was loaded the agents of the defendant in charge of said train, against the judgment and request of said Bellows & Son, closed the side doors and sealed them, the end doors remaining open. That when the car containing the bull reached St. Joseph, Missouri, the bull was found dead, and was there unloaded and not delivered at Kansas City, Missouri. Fifth. That said bull was in good condition, as far as known, at the time of shipment, and no cause is known for its death, except the heat. Sixth. Parties may introduce evidence not in conflict with the foregoing.

Among the provisions contained in said freight contract and pleaded in the answer were these: That for and in consideration of tariff dollars per car, the said railroad company agrees to transport one car from Maryville to Kansas City, to be loaded with one bull, and in consideration thereof, the said first party agrees to deliver said property for shipment upon the above terms, it being hereby expressly agreed that the value ■of said live stock does not exceed the following valúa[262]*262tion: Each ox or bull, $50each cow, $30; each calf, $10; each pig, $10; each sheep or goat, $3. And that the above rate of transportation is based upon the agreement that in case of loss or damage, whether resulting from accident or the negligence of said railroad company or its servants, said railroad company does not assume a liability for such loss or damage to exceed the said valuation for each animal. An addition of twenty-five per cent will be made to the rate for each one hundred per cent or fraction thereof, declared by the' shipper to be the valuation of his live stock, above the valuation set forth above. And in no event shall the company be liable for loss of, or damage to, said live stock to an amount exceeding such declared valuation.

Contracts: blank form: clause stricken The defendant has printed in its abstract a further clause alleged to be contained in the bill of lading which provides that defendant shall be exempt from responsibility for the safety of stock in charge of shipper or his agents or servants whether from heat, etc. The plaintiffs insist that this clause was stricken from the bill of lading before it was signed. By agreement of the parties the original contract is submitted to us for the purpose of enabling us to determine this matter of difference between them. We have all carefully examined the bill of lading and have come to the conclusion that the marks thereon sufficiently indicate and show that it was the intention of the person who filled up the blanks therein to strike therefrom the clause in question. We must presume that the trial court did not consider this clause.

At the trial the plaintiffs were permitted to prove that their agent who shipped the bull objected to the servants of the defendant closing and sealing the car doors on account of the heat. That the day the bull [263]*263was shipped was an extremely warm one, and that fears were entertained that the bull would smother unless the doors were left open. The plaintiffs were permitted, over the objections of defendant, to show that at the time of signing the bill of lading for the shipment of the bull, not a word was said about the value of the bull or the rate of freight to be paid. There was evidence that the bull was worth $225 at the time of the shipment.

The cause was submitted to the court without instructions and without the intervention of a jury. The judgment was for $225.

X. The defendant filed a motion for a new trial on the grounds, first, that the court admitted incompetent evidence in violation of the agreed statement of facts; second, that the finding should have been for defendant, and, third, that the damages should not have exceeded $50. This motion having been overruled the defendant took an appeal here.

Cevidenríec:aágreeltí tract.ment* con‘ The first ground upon which the defendant demands a reversal of the judgment is, that the trial court permitted the plaintiffs to introduce evidence in violation of the provisions of the stipulation. We have seen that by the terms of its provisions that the right was therein expressly reserved to each party to introduce evidence not in conflict with the facts therein admitted. The question then arises, was the evidence introduced by the plaintiffs in conflict with, or did it tend to disprove, the admitted facts? If so, which of them? The evidence which tended to prove that the ■ day bn which the bull was shipped was an extremely hot one and that the defendant’s servants, against the objections of ■plaintiffs’ agent, closed and sealed the doors of' the ear in which the bull was shipped, is entirely consistent with the fact admitted by the [264]*264fourth paragraph of the stipulation.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
68 Mo. App. 255, 1894 Mo. App. LEXIS 538, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/david-kellerman-son-v-kansas-city-st-joseph-council-bluffs-railroad-moctapp-1894.