Hoyland Flour Mills Co. v. Missouri Pacific Railroad

5 S.W.2d 125, 222 Mo. App. 599, 1927 Mo. App. LEXIS 186
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 6, 1927
StatusPublished

This text of 5 S.W.2d 125 (Hoyland Flour Mills Co. v. Missouri Pacific 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
Hoyland Flour Mills Co. v. Missouri Pacific Railroad, 5 S.W.2d 125, 222 Mo. App. 599, 1927 Mo. App. LEXIS 186 (Mo. Ct. App. 1927).

Opinion

BLAND, J.

— This is a suit for damages alleged to have been caused plaintiff by reason of defendant’s failure to deliver at New York City two carloads of flour shipped in sacks by it from Nansas City. Missouri, to former place. The petition was in two counts, each covering one of the cars. There was a verdict 'and judgment in favor of plaintiff in the sum of $2551.15 on each count. The court sustained defendant’s motion for'a new trial on the ground that the A-erdict of the jury was against the weight of the, evidence, Plaintiff has appealed.

*601 The facts show that the cars of flour were billed on October M and 15, .1921, 'respectively, by shippers order bills of lading containing substantially the same language. They read in part, as follows:

“Consigned to order of Hoyland Flour Mills Company Destination- — New York City, for Export, State of New York . . . Notify — Metropolitan Flour Mill & Grain Co., 330-32 Produce Exchange, at New York City, for Export, State of New York . . . Route MP TSTL&W ERIE HR NEW YORK IIARBOR — For Lighterage free for export . .- . Allow Inspection by New York Produce Exchange Inspection Department Erie R. R. New York Harbor for Lighterage free for export.”

Under these, bills of lading the flour could be sold for domestic purposes upon its arrival in New York or be diverted to some other point ■ or loaded on board ship for exportation to a foreign port. 'If this last occurred, the consignor was required to pay the difference between the domestic and export rate for transportation of the flour from Kansas City to New York, the. domestic rate being a higher rate. Tt seems that it was the custom of plaintiff to ship flour to New Yoi’k in this way and to decide after its arrival in New York as to what disposition it desired to make of the flour, the flour usually being sold through the Metropolitan Flour Mill & Grain Company, plaintiff’s broker in New York City. Plaintiff would draw upon this concern for the value of the flour and attach the draft to the bill of lading to be taken up by the latter when the -flour was sold. Plaintiff would notify its broker when the flour was shipped, sending a copy of the bill of lading so that the broker would know that, the shipment was on its way.

The cars of flour in question arrived-at. Croxton, New Jersey, on October 26 and October 28, 1921, respectively. At Croxton was located the breaking up yards of the Erie Railroad; Croxton was three to five miles inland from Weehawken, New Jersey, at which latter point the terminal piers and docks of the Erie Railroad were located. Weehawken is situated upon the west bank of the Hudson River, opposite. Manhattan. There is a high ridge of land between Weehawken and Croxton which latter point is situated near the Ilackinsack River and west of the former. The yards of the Erie Railroad at the two points are connected by tracks running through a tunnel and over the high ground between the two places. There were no facilities for unloading flour at Croxton. The testimony of defendants’ witnesses was that a carload of flour had never been known to be unloaded at Croxton for inspection.

It was the universal custom for shipment of flour under bills of lading, such as the one under which the flour in question ivas shipped, to be taken by the terminal railroad, the Erie Railroad Company, to *602 one of its docks at Weehawken, usually at dock 0, and unloaded, whereupon the right of inspection could be exercised. The evidence shows that where such right was exercised, it ivas necessary to examine each bag of flour by an instrument called a “tryer” which ivas inserted into each bag through the covering, and a small amount of flour extracted. Following the arrival of trains at Croxton yards, they would be broken up and cars intended for a specific- point, of which there were many -in and about New York City, would be made up into a train and sent to their own proper destination. Defendant’s witnesses testified that trains were made up at Croxton for Weehawken and taken over to that place as rapidly as practical under the circumstances; that the time of the arrival of ears at Weehawken from Croxton varied according to the rush of business, the weather, etc.; that sometimes these trains did not “go over” for twelve hours; that cars usually got over to Weehawken the same day on which they arrived at Croxton “within twenty-four hours;” that sometimes they would start OArer in an hour; that it might require several days for them to get to Weehawken but that would not be usual. The time required for the placing of the ears upon a, dock after their arrival at Weehawken would-also vary.

Immediately upon the arrival of each of the ears in question at Croxton, the Erie Railroad prepared and sent a notice to the Metropolitan Mill & Grain Company, located in New York City proper. As to the first car, the notice, AAdiich is substantially the same as the second, reads—

“Arrival Notice. Property described is ready for delivery by The Erie Railroad Co. New York Terminal. Lighterage Dept. Dock 08 Produce Exchange, N. Y. Date 1-26-21 Freight Bill No. Consignee and Address: Ilovland Flour Mill Co. Route: Notify Metropolitan Flour Mill Gr. Co. Prod. Exchange NY. NYExport TSTL Ohio City Way-billed from E. St. Louis, 111. Way-bill date, and No. 7485 Full Name of Shipper Hoyland Fir. Mill-Co. Gar Initials and No. N. Y. C. 238381.

“(Stamped) Arrived, Oet. 26, 1921 Ci-oxton, N. J.”

The “Arrival Notice” as to the second ear Avas stamped “Arrived, October 28, 1921, Croxton, NeAv Jersey.” On the back of each of the notices under the heading of “Special Notice,” Avas printed a statement that the company Avas not responsible for any loss by fire, etc.., occurring more than forty-eight hours (exclusive of holidays) after notice of arrival of the property had been sent or given and that its liability as a common carrier ceased then and the properly might at its option be stored at the OAvner’s risk. The Metropolitan Flour Mill & Grain Company acknoAvledged receipt of these notices upon a printed form headed “Consignee’s Receipt of Arrival Notice” by signing its name thereto, giving the date and time of the *603 receipt of each notice. The receipt, of the notice as to the first car shipped was dated, 1:05 P. M„ October 26, 1 921, and as to the second car, 9:40 A. M., October 29, 1921. The record shows that the first car was set out at the Weehawken docks at. eight P. M. of October 26 and the second car at eleven P. M. of October 28. The first car was unloaded at Dock C. Weehawken at eleven A. M. of November 3rd and the second at. 4:30 P. M. of November 2nd. A fire occurred a few minutes before midnight of November 3rd, destroying a number of docks of the Erie Railroad Company at Weehawken and consuming the flour in question. It- was shown that no contract for the sale of any of this flour, either to a foreign or domestic customer, had been entered into at the time it was destroyed by fire. Having received the notices of the arrival of the flour at Croxton, the Metropolitan Flour Mill and Crain Company knew that sooner or later -the shipment would be at the docks at Weehawken and the evidence shows that an agent of the Metropolitan Flour Mill and Grain Company, after the fire called up the office of the Erie Railroad to see if the flour had been burned.

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Bluebook (online)
5 S.W.2d 125, 222 Mo. App. 599, 1927 Mo. App. LEXIS 186, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoyland-flour-mills-co-v-missouri-pacific-railroad-moctapp-1927.