Hall v. Pennsylvania Railroad

100 A. 1035, 257 Pa. 54, 1916 Pa. LEXIS 902
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 1, 1916
DocketAppeals, Nos. 337 and 352
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 100 A. 1035 (Hall v. Pennsylvania Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hall v. Pennsylvania Railroad, 100 A. 1035, 257 Pa. 54, 1916 Pa. LEXIS 902 (Pa. 1916).

Opinion

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Frazer,

Plaintiff, a retail coal dealer, sued to recover damages from defendant for unlawful discrimination in freight rates for coal hauled between the anthracite coál regions and the City of Philadelphia. The action was brought February 1,1906, and the damages claimed were for a period of alleged discrimination between June 1, 1891, and July 23,1901. The original statement claimed damages to the extent of $100,000, which plaintiff alleged he suffered by reason of the fact that defendant “did charge, demand and receive from plaintiff for the transportation of said coal a sum in excess of that charged and received by defendant from .divers other persons upon like conditions, under similar circumstances and during the same periods of time, and allowed such other persons, firms and corporations concessions in rates and drawbacks which were not allowed to plaintiff, all in violation of the Constitution of Pennsylvania [59]*59and the statutes passed in pursuance thereof.”' There is a further averment that defendant also paid the rent of the coal yard and offices of a favored shipper of coal; and the statement then sets forth that, by reason of fraudulent concealment by defendant, plaintiff was prevented from discovering the fact of overcharge until within a year prior to beginning suit. An amended statement was filed in 1909, in which plaintiff charged defendant’s acts were “in violation of the Constitution of Pennsylvania and statutes passed in pursuance thereof, and particularly the Act of June 4, 1883, P. L. 72.” Issue was joined on the pleas of-not guilty and the statute of limitátions. A stipulation signed by counsel was filed in which it was agreed the total number of tons of coal consigned to plaintiff during the period of time named was 268,136.05 of which 52,525.05 tons were shipped within six years of the beginning of suit, and 215,611 tons previous thereto. Of the former amount 36,092,19 tons, and of the latter amount 174,175.16 tons, were purchased from James Boyd & Company, alleged agents for defendants; the remainder elsewhere. The court charged the jury that if there was a fraudulent con-' cealment which prevented plaintiff from making the discovery of rebates prior to the time of such alleged concealment, accepted by counsel as November 1, 1893, they might find damages that had accrued at that time, and also damages for rebates allowed within six years of the time suit was commenced. There was a verdict for plaintiff for $25,870.62 single damages to which the jury added $25,219.17, as damages for delay in payment, making a total of $51,089.79. The effect of this verdict was a finding that Boyd & Company were defendant’s agents, and the statute of limitations had been tolled by reason of fraudlent concealment as to shipments before November 1, 1893. Plaintiff subsequently moved for judgment for treble damages as to shipments included in the verdict, and also as to other-shipments previous to the six-year period, but subsequent to November 1, 1893. [60]*60This motion was denied and judgment n. o. v. was entered for defendant for all of the verdict above the snm of $3,624.69, representing the rebate paid to Downing Brothers, as to which amount judgment was entered for plaintiff. The effect of this judgment is to hold plaintiff’s evidence of Boyd & Company’s agency insufficient to submit to the jury, and, consequently, plaintiff could not claim damages on coal bought from them; that evidence of concealment of rebates was insufficient to toll the statute; and that no claim for treble damages or for damages for delay could be allowed. From the judgment entered as above stated both plaintiff and defendant appealed. As the various questions involved in the two appeals are more or less dependent upon each other, and require joint consideration in disposing of them, they will be considered together in this opinion.

The verdict, which is amply supported by the evidence, establishes that, during the time covered by the statement of claim, the firm of Downing Brothers, coal dealers in Philadelphia and competitors of plaintiff, paid the regular freight charges on coal shipped to them at the same rate as plaintiff paid for coal, under identical conditions and circumstances, and subsequently received rebates of fifty, twenty-five and fifteen cents a ton from defendant, and also received, in the years 1897 to 1900 inclusive, the sum of $9,500 a year to pay rent for their coal yard. Defendant contends the coal sold plaintiff by Boyd & Company was sold at a price delivered in Philadelphia, and that Boyd & Company paid the freight, hence plaintiff was not injured by the alleged rebates; there being no contractual relation between defendant and plaintiff, the right of action, if any, was against Boyd & Company. This view was sustained by the court below on demurrer to plaintiff’s original statement of claim. In his amended statement plaintiff averred payment of the freight by him to defendant. It appears, from the testimony of Downing and plaintiff’s clerk, Smedley, that both plaintiff and Downing Broth[61]*61ers received from Boyd & Company the coal billed at the price at the mines, pins freight tp Philadelphia. The verdict establishes that freight charges were added to the price of the coal, and p_aid by plaintiff to Boyd & Company, and the question arises whether there was sufficient evidence that Boyd & Company were agents of defendant to warrant its submission t<> the jury. In entering judgment non obstante veredicto the court below decided this question in the negative. -

George H. Ross, a witness for defendant, testified that Boyd & Company were sales agents in the Philadelphia district for the Susquehanna Coal Company, a corporation owned or controlled by defendant. W. C. Downing, of the firm of Downing Brot’hers, to whom the rebates complained of had been paid, testified Boyd & Company were agents of defendant for collection of freight on coal, and that he paid freight to them as such. This witness also testified to having seen an agreement of their employment as agents in 1897 or 1898, that he read it throughout, and it contained provisions for collection of freight from consignees by Boyd & Company, for which •• service the latter were to receive a certain commission. At the trial plaintiff called for the production of this agreement, and in reply to the call defendant’s counsel stated they had no sq.ch agreement, and officials of defendant, called for cross-examination, denied all knowledge of the existence of such contract. Other witnesses also testified Boyd ¿¡^Company were agents for defendant company; and it appears freight on coal purchased by others than Boyd & 'Company was always paid direct to defendant, while on purchases from Boyd & Company it was paid to them: Although the testimony of Downing was not definite as to the period of time covered by the contract of agency which he claims to have seen, and he was not clear whether the agreement was a new one or the renewal of a former one, his testimony, with the other evidence in the case, was sufficient to submit to the jury on the question whether or not Boyd & [62]*62Company were agents of defendant for receiving freight charges: Hertzler v. Geigley, 196 Pa. 419; Singer Manufacturing Co. v. Christian, 211 Pa. 534.

The court below in its opinion refusing a new trial limited the damages to a period of six years preceding the beginning of the suit, thus holding plaintiff had not met the burden imposed upon him of proving facts sufficient to take the case out of the statute of limitations: Campbell’s Admr. v. Boggs, 48 Pa. 524.

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Bluebook (online)
100 A. 1035, 257 Pa. 54, 1916 Pa. LEXIS 902, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hall-v-pennsylvania-railroad-pa-1916.