Hawarden Sand & Gravel Co. v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co.

185 Iowa 1168
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedApril 14, 1919
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 185 Iowa 1168 (Hawarden Sand & Gravel Co. v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hawarden Sand & Gravel Co. v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co., 185 Iowa 1168 (iowa 1919).

Opinion

Gaynor, J.

This action is brought to recover á certain sum, with interest. The plaintiff bases a right to recover on the fact which the evidence discloses, that it ordered certain cars from the defendant for use in transporting sand and gravel; that the cars furnished, when received by the plaintiff, required coopering, to make them perfectly fit for the purpose of transporting the character of sand that the plaintiff had for transportation • that, to put them in that con[1169]*1169dition, plaintiff was compelled to do, and did do, a certain amount oí coopering. It appears that, in coopering, the plaintiff used lumber furnished by defendant, but did the labor of repairing and furnished the nails. The action is brought to recover for the labor done and the nails furnished and used. The question here, then, is whether the plaintiff is entitled to recover for the labor performed and nails furnished, when the work was reasonably necessary to put the. cars in condition to haul, without waste, the kind of commodity which the plaintiff had for transportation. It is conceded that the sand was loaded in these oars and transported to points wholly within the state of Iowa. It is also conceded that the defendant is a common carrier, and, during the year 1916, was engaged in both interstate and intrastate commerce; that the cars furnished were indiscriminately used by the defendant, both in interstate and intrastate commerce; and that the coopering for which suit is brought was done during the year 1916. The number of cars furnished, used, and coopered is not disputed, and it is conceded that the charges made are reasonable. The cars were furnished and used between the 27th day of May, 1916, and the 11th day of November, 1916. No claim is made for lumber used in coopering the cars. The lumber was furnished by the defendant at the loading station, and was used by the plaintiff in the work of coopering. It is apparent, therefore, that the only question presented for our consideration is whether the company is liable to the plaintiff for the labor performed and the nails furnished in coopering, — that is, in making these cars sand tight. Statements were furnished! by the plaintiff to the defendant monthly, and refused by the! defendant, on the ground that it could not allow the plaintiff for this coopering, because such work was not provided for in its tariff schedules; that its tariff schedules provided for., furnishing lumber only; and that it could not, therefore, I rightly allow plaintiff for labor or coopering, or for. nails * used in coopering. ^

[1170]*1170It was conceded, and, for the purposes of this case, we assume it to be a fact, that certain exhibits, numbered 3, 3-a, 3-b, 4, 5, 5-a, 5-b, 5-c, and 5-d, and Exhibits Nos. 6, 6-a, 6-b, 6-c, and 6-5 are the approved classifications, rules, and regulations promulgated by the defendant company, published, filed with, and approved by, the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Iowa State Railway Commission; and that, the same were legally in force and effect during the year 1916, and at all times complained of in the suit in controversy. These schedules fix the tariff rates to be charged, together with classifications, rules, and regulations published by the defendant company and in force during all the time plaintiff claims to have done the coopering.

There is no provision in the tariff so published for the coopering of cars by the company. It does, however, provide that it shall furnish lumber to its shippers for repairing and coopering cars. The tariff schedule reads:

“Suitable boards will be furnished at all loading stations for use in coopering cars.” >

These tariff regulations are binding on the company, and after being published, all shippers must take notice, and are presumed to have notice, of them. Therefore, we have the published schedule of rates fixed by the company and approved by the commissioners. The only duty which the defendant company assumed to any of its shippers in the" published schedules, is to furnish the lumber for coopering. That coopering may be necessary, and sometimes is necessary, we may assume. The cars used by the plaintiff were, at the time they were furnished, in condition for the transportation of ordinary commodities, and when not in condition for that purpose, were placed on defendant’s repair track and repaired, before delivery to the plaintiff; but the repairs made upon them did not render them sufficiently tight and close to hold the character of sand shipped by plaintiff, without coopering. The evidence showed that the [1171]*1171work done by tbe plaintiff in coopering was reasonably necessary to make the cars so that they would hold sand and gravel such as the plaintiff shipped. The coopering consisted in nailing strips or boards over the holes or cracks in the cars. It does not appear where those holes or cracks were, or their size. The company furnishes lumber free to the shipper, so that he may cooper the cars whenever it appears to the shipper that the condition of the cars is not, by reason of slight defects, safe for the transportation of his particular commodity.

These are practically all the facts appearing in the record which are necessary to a determination of the real ques- " tion before us.

To recapitulate: It will be noted that the plaintiff seeks reimbursement from the carrier for labor and material supplied by him in coopering, or making tight against leakage, cars to be loaded with sand in bulk, shipped from the loading point to destinations in Iowa. The entire shipment was intrastate. Plaintiff does not claim that the tar: iffs of the carrier lawfully applicable to intrastate traffic, provided that the carrier would reimburse the shipper for amounts invested in coopering cars. Plaintiff relies entirely for recovery upon Section 21M of the Code of 1897, which provides:

“Every railway corporation shall, when within its pow- j er to do so, and upon reasonable notice, furnish suitable / ears to any and all persons who may apply therefor, for j the transportation of any and all kinds of freight, and re: ceive and transport such freight with all' reasonable disr patch,” etc. —.

It is the claim of the plaintiff that the cars were not suitable for the transportation of plaintiff’s sand, and that, therefore, defendant failed in its statutory duty in the furnishing of cars, and that this failure justified the plaintiff in coopering the cars at defendant’s expense, so as to make [1172]*1172them suitable for the transportation of the freight which it intended to transport upon the cars.

Before much of the legislation fixing the rights, duties^ and obligations of railway companies to shippers and to the' public generally, and before the creation of the Iowa Railway Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission, it was found that railway companies were in the habit of discriminating between shippers and between localities, and these evils of discrimination’ worked great prejudice to the public. It was, therefore, thought advisable to compel the railway companies to publish terms and conditions under which shipments would be made; so they were required to classify freight and fix rates and regulations, and publish and file the same with the Railway Commission, so that all might be treated alike. The classifications and rates thusj fixed are made binding upon the company in its dealing with all shippers. After making the classification and fixing the rates, they are not permitted to discriminate by giving one shipper or one locality an advantage over another.

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185 Iowa 1168, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hawarden-sand-gravel-co-v-chicago-northwestern-railway-co-iowa-1919.