Henderson v. Hines

98 So. 333, 86 Fla. 494
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedNovember 28, 1923
StatusPublished

This text of 98 So. 333 (Henderson v. Hines) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Henderson v. Hines, 98 So. 333, 86 Fla. 494 (Fla. 1923).

Opinion

Whitfield, J.

The amended declaration herein is as follows:

“The plaintiff, P. A. Henderson, by his attorneys,'Evans & Mershon, sues the defendant, Walker D. Hines, Director General of Railroads, for that WHEREAS

“First Count: Heretofore, to-wit: on or about the 28th day of November, 1919, the defendant was, and yet is, and since the 26th day of December, 1917, the defendant and [495]*495Ms predecessor in office, hath been Director General of Railroads, under an Act of Congress of the United States, approved August 29, 1916, and the Proclamation of the President of the United States, in pursuance thereof, of date the twenty-sixth day of December, A. D. 1917, and as such Director General of Railroads, the said defendant, and his predecessor in office, has been in possession and control of the Florida East Coast Railway, and that the said defendant, and his said predecessor in office, since the 28th day of December, 1917, has maintained and operated tbe said Florida East Coast Railway, being a line of railroad entirely within the State of Florida, extending from Jacksonville in said State, into and through the City of Miami, Florida, to Key West, Florida; that on, to-wit: the 3rd day of January, 1918, the said defendant transported a certain carload shipment of lumber from a point within the State of Florida, consigned to the plaintiff, at Miami, Florida, over the said Florida East Coast Railway, and delivered the same to the plaintiff upon a spur track, at Miami, Florida, connected with the said defendant’s lin.e of railroad; that the said defendant, by and through his agents and employees, then and there, in transporting the said carload shipment consigned to the plaintiff as aforesaid, from a point in the State of Florida, to the City of Miami aforesaid, had the line haul of said carload shipment and was paid the full rate charges or toll for transporting the said carload shipment from the said point in the State of Florida, to the City of Miami aforesaid, yet plaintiff says that notwithstanding the premises, the defendant by and through his agents aforesaid, did, on the 3rd day of January, 1918, wrongfully demand of and receive from the plaintiff, the sum of two dollars ($2.00) as a purported charge for the delivery and placement for unloading, of the said C. B. & Q. Car No. 102237, loaded with lumber con[496]*496signed to plaintiff, upon the spur track aforesaid. And plaintiff avers that at divers other times since the said 3rd day of January, 1918, the said defendant has transported over the said railway from points within the State of Florida, car-load shipments of lumber consigned to the plaintiff at Miami, Florida, and has delivered the same to the plaintiff upon the said spur track connected with defendant’s said line of railroad, upon which said carload shipments the defendant had the line haul and did receive the full rate transportation charges and toll, and that notwithstanding the premises, the said defendant did wrongfully demand of and receive from the plaintiff, the sum of Two Dollars ($2.00) upon each and every one of said car-load shipmnets as a purported charge for delivering and placing for unloading the said car-load shipments, upon said spur track, in addition to the regular full rate charges and toll paid to the defendant for transporting and delivering to the plaintiff, the said car-load shipments, as aforesaid. And plaintiff further alleges that the said Florida East Coast Railway then and there was and still is the only line of railway entering into the City of Miami, Florida, and that the plaintiff, in order to receive the said shipment of freight, and in order to have the same transported and delivered to the plaintiff, in the City of Miami, Florida, upon the said spur track, was compelled to and did pay to the defendant, the said sum of two dollars ($2.00) for delivering the said C. B. & Q. Car. No. 102237, and each of the other divers carload shipments, which said payments made by the plaintiff to the defendant, as aforesaid, aggregate the sum of, to-wit: One Thousand, Thirty-eight and 42/100 Dollars ($1,038.42), and plaintiff says that the said sum, and each item thereof, was wrongfully and unlawfully demanded and collected from the plaintiff by the defendant.

[497]*497“Wherefore, plaintiff brings this his suit and claims damages in the sum of Three Thousand ($3000.00) Dollars.

“And the said plaintiff further sues the said defendant for that, to-wit: on or about the twenty-eighth day of November, 1919, the said defendant became indebted to the plaintiff in the sum of Three Thousand ($3000.00) Dollars for money had and received by the defendant for the use of the plaintiff.

“Wherefore plaintiff sues and claims damages in the sum of One Thousand Dollars.”

Trial was had by the court without a jury upon the following pleas: “Never was indebted as alleged,” and “For a further and seventh plea to plaintiff’s said declaration, and each count thereof, defendant says that, on January 1st, 1913, the Florida East Coast Eailway Company and the McCrimmon Lumber Company entered into an agreement, which is recorded in Deed Book 103, at page 115, et seq. of the public records of Dade County, Florida, a copy of which said agreement is hereto attached and marked Exhibit ‘A, ’ and made a part hereof, by the terms whereof the former leased to the latter the right and privilege to use a certain spur track,. which had been constructed at the instance and request of the lessee, extending from the lessor’s branch line in Miami, Florida, known as the ‘Boyal Palm Spur,’ to and upon the property of the lessee described as Lots 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, of Block 134, North, of the City of Miami, Florida, which is the identical spur track (save in unimportant details) upon which the declaration alleges the delivery of certain cars by the defendant, for the agreed rental of ONE HUNDEED TWENTY-NINE & 23/100 DOLLAES ($129.23) per annum, and TWO DOLLAES ($2.00) for each car loaded there in or thereout; that on January 2nd, 1914, the McCrimmon Lumber Company [498]*498assigned said lease to plaintiff, who affirmatively accepted it subject to all its terms and conditions, including the agreement to pay TWO DOLLARS ($2.00) for each car loaded in or out, said assignment being recorded in Miscellaneous Book No. 1, at page 109, of the public records of said county, and a copy of which is hereto attached desig-' nated as Exhibit ‘B’ and made a part hereof; that defendant, in the operation of its system of transportation, pursuant to the Acts of Congress,- proclamations of the President of the United States, and his own general orders, succeeded to all the rights of the Florida East Coast Railway Company under said contract, and assessed and charged the charges herein sought to be recovered, under and in accordance with the provisions thereof;” and upon an “agreed statement of facts and stipulations,” the pertinent portions of which are as follows:

“4. That on or about the 3d day of January, 1918, the Director General of Railroads transported a certain carload shipment of lumber from a point within the State of Florida, consigned to the plaintiff, at Miami, Florida, over the said Florida East Coast Railway, and delivered the same to the plaintiff upon a spur track at Miami, Floi’ida, which is connected with the line of railroad of the said Florida East Coast Railway.

“5.

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Related

Burr v. Florida East Coast Railway Co.
81 So. 464 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1919)
Los Angeles Switching Case
234 U.S. 294 (Supreme Court, 1914)

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Bluebook (online)
98 So. 333, 86 Fla. 494, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henderson-v-hines-fla-1923.