Lee Roy Crawford Produce Co. v. Thompson

228 S.W.2d 344, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1963
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 1, 1950
Docket12044
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 228 S.W.2d 344 (Lee Roy Crawford Produce Co. v. Thompson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lee Roy Crawford Produce Co. v. Thompson, 228 S.W.2d 344, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1963 (Tex. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

W. O. MURRAY, Chief Justice.

Lee Roy Crawford Produce Company, hereinafter referred to as appellant or shipper, sued Guy A. Thompson, Trustee, St. Louis, Brownsville &. Mexico Railway Company, hereinafter referred to as ap-pellee or carrier, to recover damages to two carloads of vegetables shipped from the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, to eastern markets. The trial was before, the court without the intervention of a jury and resulted in judgment in favor of appellant against appellee as to one of the carloads a'nd in favor of appellee against appellant, that he take nothing, as to the second carload. Thereafter the two counts in appellant’s petition were severed and this appeal relates only to the second count in the petition, upon which appellant failed to recover.

Lee Roy Crawford Produce Company has prosecuted this appeal from the judgment denying him any recovery under the second count in his petition.

The carload of vegetables herein involved was seven hundred lugs of tomatoes shipped from San Benito, Texas, first to Kansas City, Missouri, thence diverted to Chicago, Illinois, and again diverted to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The trial judge made and filed the following findings of fact:

*346 “I. November 30, 1946, at 10:30 P.M., Plaintiff delivered to the Defendant at San Benito, Texas, for transportation to himself at Kansas City, Missouri, seven hundred (700) lugs of tomatoes. Defendant issued its not negotiable bill of lading therefor, bearing notation of the above facts and also reciting that the foods were shipper’s load and count. 605 of these were inspected by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Texas State Department of Agriculture inspector at Harlingen, Texas, between 9:00 A.M., on November 29, 1946, and 3:30 P.M., November 30, 1946. 95 lugs of these had been similarly inspected at an undisclosed time. Each lot was found to be U. S. No. 2 grade. These tomatoes were loaded in Car ART 24059. The shipper directed the car to be transported with the vents and plugs of the car open if the temperature was above 45° above zero Fahrenheit and closed if the temperature was below 45°.

“II. The car of tomatoes was due in Kansas City at 2:00 A.M. December 4, 1946, and actually arrived at 11:40 P.M. December 3, 1946.

“III. December 5, 1946, at 7:00 P.M. the plaintiff filed orders with the Defendant at San Benito, Texas, reconsigning the car to Plaintiff at Chicago, Illinois, with the instructions as to the ventilation remaining the same. Under this diversion order, the car was due in Chicago at 12:30 A.M. December 7, 1946, and actually arrived at 12:10 A.M. that day.

“IV. After the car arrived at Chicago, LaMantia Bros. D’Arrigo Company, at the request of Plaintiff, inspected the tomatoes December 8, at 8:15 A.M. and found that the tomatoes were ‘fair’ quality, meaning the quality at origin, that there were the following defects existing at origin: 36% average shoulder bruises and scars and 4% growth cracks, 3'% were soft ripe, and there was an average of 3% decay. They also inspected the tomatoes on December 12 at 9:20 A.M. at which time they found: 6% soft ripe and 4% decay. When inspected December 8, the tomatoes inspected were still U. S. No. 2 grade, but on December 12, due solely to ripeness, they were no longer U. S. No. 2 grade. The decay and ripeness shown by each of these inspections was greater than the average for the car, since, in each case, only the upper layers were sampled and decay and ripeness is greater there than in the car as a whole.

“V. While the car was in Chicago, one heater was installed and lighted December 13 at 1:00 A.M. The heater was turned off at 11:00 A.M. the same day and removed before the car departed from Chicago. The minimum temperatures at Chicago were:

December 10 — 37° F.

December 11 — 34° F.

December 12 — 220 F.

December 13 — 17° F.

Under the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission tariffs applicable, the carrier was required to use its discretion as to when to install and light the car heaters to protect the contents from extreme outside cold. I find that the carrier in good faith on the basis of the declining temperature correctly placed heater in the car and lighted it.

“VI. December 13, 1946, Plaintiff sent a Western Union telegram (which the Wabash Railroad freight agent at Chicago received at 1:40 P.M.) reconsigning the car to Leone Fruit and Vegetable Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with instructions to maintain the same ventilation. Under this reconsignment the car of tomatoes was due in Pittsburgh at 7:45 P.M. December 15 for the market of December 16, a Mon,day. The car actually arrived at Pittsburgh at 6:30 P.M. December 17 for the market of December 18. The car was placed for unloading for the market of December 19.

“VII. The carrier used proper care in manipulating the ventilating devices of the car en route.

“VIII. Leone Fruit and Vegetable Company sold 672 lugs of the tomatoes in this car from December 19 to December 27, both inclusive, for a price ranging from 50‡ to $2.75 per lug, for a gross of $681.00.

*347 “IX. On arrival at Pittsburgh, a United 'States Department of Agriculture inspector found the tomatoes to be 3% soft ripe and to have 10% decay. This inspection showed that only because of the decay were the ■tomatoes in the car not U. S. No. 2 grade

“X. I find that the carriers delay of two days in arrival at Pittsburgh and one day delay in placing the car for the market there did not materially injure the tomatoes. The damaged condition at destination was due almost entirely to the delay -of the Plaintiff in (1) loading the tomatoes ■and having them inspected during two days-; (2) in holding the car at Kansas City, Missouri, for two days; and (3) in holding the car at Chicago for more than ■six days. I further find that the prices received for these tomatoes on sales made from December 19 through December 27, .a period of nine days, was not their value •on arrival, and that such period of nine days was an unreasonably long time for the consignee (plaintiff’s agent) to take in ■selling them-.”

It is apparent from these findings ■that the seven hundred lugs of tomatoes were in good condition and were U. S. No. 2 grade when they were delivered to -carrier at San Benito, Texas. Appellee carrier issued its straight bill of lading 'for this carload of tomatoes and this suit was brought by shipper against appellee as the initial carrier under the provisions of the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C.A. -§ 20, par. (11). The evidence shows that the tomatoes were in good condition when delivered to the carrier and were in bad condition when they arrived at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thus the shipper made out a prima facie cause of action of liability against the carrier. It is true that the trial judge in his findings of fact found, in effect, that the shipper was responsible for one day’s delay in loading the car and two days’ delay at Kansas City, and six days’ delay in Chicago, but he further found that the carrier was responsible for two days’ delay in shipment arriving at Pittsburgh, and one day’s delay in placing the car, making a sum total of three days.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Texas & Pacific Railway Co. v. Empacadora De Ciudad Juarez, S. A.
309 S.W.2d 926 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1957)
Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. Trautmann Brothers
301 S.W.2d 240 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1957)
Thompson v. Bob Tankersley Produce Company
289 S.W.2d 840 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1956)
Thompson v. James G. McCarrick Co., Inc
205 F.2d 897 (Fifth Circuit, 1953)
Thompson v. Tankersley
238 S.W.2d 263 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1951)
Thompson v. Lee Roy Crawford Produce Co.
233 S.W.2d 295 (Texas Supreme Court, 1950)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
228 S.W.2d 344, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1963, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lee-roy-crawford-produce-co-v-thompson-texapp-1950.