French v. Pere Marquette Railway Co.

171 N.W. 491, 204 Mich. 578, 1919 Mich. LEXIS 729
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedApril 3, 1919
DocketDocket No. 53
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 171 N.W. 491 (French v. Pere Marquette Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
French v. Pere Marquette Railway Co., 171 N.W. 491, 204 Mich. 578, 1919 Mich. LEXIS 729 (Mich. 1919).

Opinion

Steere, J.

This action was brought against de[580]*580fendant as initial carrier to recover damages sustained by plaintiffs on a carload of potatoes shipped from Bailey, Mich., on November 3, 1917, over defendant’s line and connecting carriers, to Louisville, Ky. The potatoes were intended for ultimate delivery at Camp Zachary Taylor, located near Louisville on the Southern railroad. After this camp was established the Southern road opened a station at that point, called Dumesnil, to handle the freight business which the camp demanded and developed. A firm named Marshall & Kelsey, of Indianapolis, Ind., had secured from the quartermaster of the camp a contract to supply it with a quantity of potatoes, and sublet a contract to a produce broker of Grand Rapids named Mosely to supply 40 carloads, of which plaintiffs, who were produce dealers and handled potatoes, furnished a part, the ear in question being one of several which they shipped in that connection. The price of the potatoes to plaintiffs was $2.63 per hundredweight, less freight rate from Bailey to Indianapolis. The bill of lading, issued by defendant, shows it was N. Y. C. Car No. 151,473, containing 300 sacks of potatoes weighing 45,000 pounds, billed from Bailey, Mich. — destination Louisville, Ky., consigned to the order of J. F. French & Co. — route C. C. C. & St. L., often called the “Big Four.” Upon the bill is the direction, “Notify Marshall & Kelsey, c/o Captain Bernard, Commissary at Camp Zachary Taylor,” and “Allow inspection.”

The car was moved under a standard uniform bill of lading, and a billing of like import accompanied the car showing routing, destination, consignee, etc. Defendant was the initial carrier and the Big Four railroad was both the connecting and terminal carrier. No claim of negligence is made as to time or manner of transporting the car over its route from point of shipment to Louisville, its destination and contracted point of delivery. Plaintiffs’ grievance, and claimed [581]*581ground of negligence which resulted in the damages sought- to be recovered, is a reconsignment of the car by the terminal carrier at Louisville for further movement over another line, without authority of the assignee at the destination point or requiring surrender of the original bill of lading for cancellation.

The trial court held that, as a matter of law, under the undisputed evidence, the terminal carrier was guilty of negligence in that particular and defendant liable for resulting damages, if any; and submitted to the jury the question of damages with proper instructions upon that issue, as to burden of proof, measure of damages if any were shown, etc. Plaintiffs recovered verdict with judgment thereon for $689.20.

Defendant’s counsel properly saved adverse rulings desired reviewed by seasonable objections, motions, request for directed verdict, etc., and concisely point out in their brief that they center to a “narrow and Well-defined” issue, saying:

“There is involved simply a construction of the Federal uniform bills of lading act passed in 1916 (39 U. S. Stat at Large, p. 538-542) in connection with the so-called Carmack amendment.”

When the car was loaded and started from Bailey, its point of shipment, plaintiffs received from defendant, its initial carrier, the original order bill of lading covering this car, of the standard form approved by the interstate commerce commission, to which they attached a draft for the selling price drawn on Marshall & Kelsey of Indianapolis and turned it over to their local bank at Grand Rapids, receiving credit therefor on their commercial account and the bank forwarded the bill of lading with draft attached to •the Commercial National Bank of Indianapolis for collection. As it turned out, the Indianapolis bank, in careless disregard of its duty as a collecting agent, handled the shipping bill in a way which made possi[582]*582ble the complications which followed. Instead of requiring payment of the draft before surrendering the shipping bill to the payor, it detached the bill from the draft and intrusted it to Kelsey, who took it with other bills to Dumesnil, and, on about November 14th or 15th, left it at the Southern railroad station with one of its employees named Bindner who worked in the station as cashier. The agent of the Southern road at Dumesnil, named Baker, testified that he never had the bill of lading for that car and could not say that it was in the office, but the cashier had the same authority as he to deliver shipments. Bindner testified that he was not holding those bills for the Southern railroad company, but they were given to him by Kelsey, who had a whole lot of stuff in his pocket, to keep for him, and he (Bindner) “chucked them in a drawer” and was holding them for Kelsey. The car arrived at Louisville on November 9th and remained at the Big Four station until November 16th, when Bindner called up by ’phone the trackage clerk of the Big Four at Louisville, námed Smith, told him he had the bill of lading and to let the car go out to the camp. Bindner testified that he did not do this under Kelsey’s. directions or as agent for the Southern railway but on his own hook because the car was Overdue; he had looked at the routing which was over the Big Four and he knew the government needed potatoes. Smith testified that on receiving this word from Bindner he told him if the Southern railway would guarantee him “our car service” and he had the bill of lading, he would send it out and, although he knew that under the rules of the Big Four he should not let the ca^r go without surrender of the bill of lading he “took the chance” and reconsigned the car by changing the destination in the way bill with charges to follow and sent it forward over the Southern railway line, which received and moved it under the altered way bill [583]*583marked “Dumesnil, Kentucky So. R. R.,” delivering it at its destination on November 18th, charging a six cent local rate for the haul from Louisville to Dumesnil.

This car arrived at Louisville over the Big Four line on the evening of November 9, 1917. Kelsey had told Smith that he was stopping in that city at the Watterson hotel and asked to be notified by ’phone when cars, which he expected, arrived for his firm, and Smith on the next day (November 10th) first attempted to get him by ’phone, but being unsuccessful sent a regular form postal card notice by mail, addressed to the firm, care of the Watterson hotel, with a 5-day return mark on it, containing full information relative to the car and stamped across its face in large letters “Present Bill of Lading.” Smith testified it was the rule of the company that a car billed as this one was should not be delivered without surrender of the bill of lading.

When the car arrived at Dumesnil it was placed on the side tracks near the commissary buildings and, as was shown against plaintiffs’ objection, was subsequently rejected with numerous other cars on inspection by quartermaster officers, on what date does not appear, on the ground that the potatoes were suffering from “field frost,” as diagnosed by Captain Hanson, while Col. Pearson stated that when his attention was called to them they were badly frost-bitten and rotten, and he directed Hanson to reject the cars from which they were taken; that as he recollected it the weather was extremely cold at that time and he could not tell whether they were frosted en route or in the field.

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Bluebook (online)
171 N.W. 491, 204 Mich. 578, 1919 Mich. LEXIS 729, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/french-v-pere-marquette-railway-co-mich-1919.