Igo v. Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co.

156 Ill. App. 190, 1910 Ill. App. LEXIS 379
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 28, 1910
StatusPublished

This text of 156 Ill. App. 190 (Igo v. Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Igo v. Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co., 156 Ill. App. 190, 1910 Ill. App. LEXIS 379 (Ill. Ct. App. 1910).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Philbrick

delivered the opinion of the court.

This is an action brought by appellee against appellant to recover for an alleged damage to a shipment of a car-load of horses and mules from Shelhyville, Shelby county, Illinois, to Indianapolis, in the State of Indiana, alleged to have been occasioned by reason of alleged negligence of appellant in delay in taking the car from Shelhyville, and also in the violent and improper handling of the car in such shipment.

The declaration consists of two counts. The first count is based upon an alleged charge of negligence in handling the car in such a violent and rough manner in the switching, starting and backing of the train whereby the said horses and mules were damaged and injured.

The second count alleges a charge of negligence consisting of a delay in taking the cars from Shelhyville after the same had been loaded by appellee and delivered to appellant and averts that the car was loaded at six o’clock in the afternoon and that appellant negligently permitted the same to remain upon its track at Shelhyville until the hour of five o’clock in the morning of the day following and negligently permitted two trains, belonging to appellant and being regular stock trains carrying through stock to the city of Indianapolis, to pass by said city of Shelhyville, without taking said car from Shelhyville to Indianapolis, and that by reason of this delay the stock was damaged.

To this declaration appellant pleaded the general issue, also one special plea.

The special plea set forth that appellant was a railroad company incorporated under the laws of the State of Indiana and Ohio and engaged in interstate traffic and that the hauling and taking of the said stock from the city of Shelbyville to the city of Indianapolis was interstate traffic and governed by the rules and regulations of the Interstate Commerce Act, in that appellant entered into a contract with appellee which, under the Interstate Commerce Act, was a limited liability live stock contract and the rate of shipment was based upon a classification known as Ho. 29 of the Interstate Commerce Commission, then on file in the office of appellant at Shelbyville, Illinois. The contract is set out in full in the plea and appellant avers that under the contract it became and was the duty of appellee to furnish within five days any claim for damages arising by reason of said shipment, verified by affidavit, to appellant at its office in-Indianapolis and that appellee did not so furnish such verified statement and make such claim and that by reason of it being a shipment governed by the Interstate Commerce Act a lower rate was granted to appellee and that by reason of this lower rate appellant had a right to limit its liability.

Appellee obtained leave to reply doubly to this plea and replied:

First: That appellant did not require appellee to make a claim in writing within five days after the alleged injury • verified by affidavit but that appellee did make and deliver on the 24th day of April at the city of Indianapolis and state of Indiana a claim in writing for said injuries and that although said claim was not verified by affidavit appellant received and accepted said claim as a claim for injuries and damages without objection, that the same was unverified by the oath of the plaintiff and that ever since that time has treated said claim as a claim pending for adjustment upon its merit.

The second replication was, that at the time of shipment and the making of the alleged contract the defendant did not notify the plaintiff and the plaintiff did not know the contract limited the liability of appellant or the said shipment was taken at a reduced rate on account of such limited liability and did not notify appellee that by paying a higher rate a greater liability would be undertaken on the part of appellant.

To the second replication appellant interposed a demurrer which was overruled by the trial court and appellant elected to stand by its demurrer and thereupon filed a rejoinder to the first replication.

Trial was had upon the issue thus made and resulted in a. verdict in favor of appellee for $300. Motion for a new trial was overruled, judgment rendered on the verdict and appellant prosecuted its appeal from that judgment and urges for reversal: . . .

First: That there was no evidence in the record tending to prove the negligence alleged in the first count of the declaration and that the court erred in refusing to sustain a motion to withdraw that count from the jury.

Second: That the court erred in overruling the demurrer of appellant to the second replication.

Third: That the declaration only alleged delay in taking the stock from Shelbyville and did not allege any delay after having so taken the stock and that the court erred in admitting evidence of the delay of the car after the same had left Shelbyville.

Fourth: That the court erred in admitting evidence of alleged damages to a certain race horse which was shipped in said car for the reason that such evidence related to special damages and that no such special damages Was alleged in the declaration.

Fifth: That the court erred in giving and refusing instructions.

Upon the first ground urged that the court should have taken the first count of the declaration from the jury, we find upon examination of the record that there is no evidence whatever as to any violent or rough usage or handling of the car after the same was loaded by appellee and there is no evidence that the train was violently handled or that the cars were kicked in switching and upon this question the record wholly fails to prove any averment of negligence in the first count of the declaration, and the motion of appellant to withdraw said count from the jury should have been sustained.

Upon the question of overruling the demurrer of appellant to the second replication filed by appellee, the special plea to which this replication was filed set forth a special contract which had been signed by appellee and that the contract was made upon the basis of a certain classified schedule on file in the office of appellant giving the various schedules and rates for shipments of this character which were open to the inspection of appellee and which were required to be maintained at the office of appellant by the Interstate Commerce Act, and that appellant was bound by the rates therein made and the same being there for the inspection of appellee and appellee having executed this contract, that he is bound thereby and was bound to know not only the contents of his contract but also the contents and provisions of the schedule so maintained at the offices of appellant under the provision of the Interstate Commerce Act; and that by reason of this schedule a lower rate was given to appellee and under it appellant had the right to limit its liabilities by contract.

Upon this question the Supreme Court in Kirby vs. C. & A. R. R. Co., 242 Ill.

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Related

Gumb v. Twenty-Third Street Railway Co.
21 N.E. 993 (New York Court of Appeals, 1889)
Adams v. Gardner
78 Ill. 568 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1875)
Kirby v. Chicago & Alton Railroad
90 N.E. 252 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1909)
Spencer v. St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad
21 Minn. 362 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1875)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
156 Ill. App. 190, 1910 Ill. App. LEXIS 379, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/igo-v-cleveland-cincinnati-chicago-st-louis-railway-co-illappct-1910.