McNeal v. Braun

23 A. 687, 53 N.J.L. 617, 24 Vroom 617, 1891 N.J. LEXIS 25
CourtSupreme Court of New Jersey
DecidedJune 15, 1891
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 23 A. 687 (McNeal v. Braun) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McNeal v. Braun, 23 A. 687, 53 N.J.L. 617, 24 Vroom 617, 1891 N.J. LEXIS 25 (N.J. 1891).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Deptje, J.

Braun, the plaintiff below, in 1883 was a wholesale dealer in coal at Philadelphia. McNeal, who is-[619]*619now plaintiff in error, was engaged in the foundry business at Burlington, in this state.

On the 14th of June, 1883, McNeal ordered from the-plaintiff ninety-eight'tons of lump and steamboat coal, to be-delivered at Burlington, at $4.10 a ton delivered. The coal' was shipped in a barge called “ The Wayward,” on the 21st of June. The barge arrived at Burlington on the 23d, but it was not until the 26th that she was laid alongside of the-wharf. On the afternoon of that day the defendant’s foreman notified.the captain of the barge to place it alongside of th.edefendant’s wharf. In order that the boat might be so placed' that the steam-hoist could be used for unloading, the boat was-separated into its two parts. The forward part was made fash to the wharf, being separated from the wharf by a float about three feet wide, furnished by the defendant, for the purpose-of steadying the boat in a position that was necessary for the-working of the iron buckets on the steam elevator. The after part of the boat was moored on the river side of the other part.

When the forward compartment of the boat-was placed in* position, the buckets of the hoisting works were lowered upon* the boat, and preparations were made by the defendant’s servants for unloading the coal. They completed their preparations about ten minutes before six o’clock, and stopped work, at six, the usual time for quitting work. During the night this compartment of the boat sank with the coal that was-in it.

The compartment that was moored in the river remained in safety. After the sinking of the forward compartment,, the coal that was in the other compartment was unloaded and taken by the defendant. The suit was for the whole quantity of coal sold, but the controversy at the trial was with respect to the coal that was sunk and entirely lost. Under the-charge of the court,'the jury found for the plaintiff the full contract price for the entire shipment.

The order for the coal was given by the defendant to Ark-less, the agent of the plaintiff, at the plaintiff’s place of busi[620]*620tness in Philadelphia. The order was for a cargo of coal of an approved size and quality. The coal was not., at that time, ■separated from the plaintiff’s stock on hand. The price to be paid was $4.10 per ton delivered at Burlington. The carrier was selected by the plaintiff, and he took from him a bill of lading, signed by the master, in these words: “Shipped by Charles Braun, in good order, on board the boat called Wayward, now lying at Philadelphia, and bound for Burlington, N. J., ninety-eight tons of Thomas Lehigh coal, which I promise to deliver at the aforesaid port of Burlington, in like good order, the dangers of the seas only excepted, unto A. H. McNeal or - assigns, he or they paying freight for the same at the rate of twenty one-hundredths dollars per ton.

25 tons lump.

73 tons steamboat.

98 Captain to tend guy.”

The contract price of $4.10 a ton was the price of the coal ■delivered at Burlington. If the defendant paid freight pursuant to the direction in the bill of lading, the freight paid was to be deducted from the contract price.

Responsibility for loss in transportation, in carriage by sea, has occasioned considerable discussion in the English courts. The rules on this subject are stated by Lord Cottenham in Dunlop v. Lambert, 6 Cl. & F. 600, 619, 620, 621, and by the Court of Queen’s Bench and the Exchequer Chamber in The Calcutta Company v. DeMattos, 32 Law Jour. Q. B. 332; 33 Id. 214; and particularly by Mr. Justice Blackburn, whose opinion in that case is quoted at considerable 'length in 1 Benj. Sales (Corbin’s ed.), § 503, and more fully in Blackb. Sales (Blackstone’s ed.) *234.

It is sometimes stated, as a general rule, that delivery to the carrier is delivery to the consignee, and that the goods are to be carried to their destination at his risk. But an examination of the decisions to that effect will show that this doctrine prevails only where the contract of sale, as between the ■consignor and consignee, was concluded at the place of ship[621]*621ment, and the undertaking to ship was collateral to the contract of sale, as in Tregelles v. Sewell, 7 Hurlst. & N. 573. It will also be found-that the' rule, uniformly adopted in the'line of decisions, is that the risk of loss in transportation depends upon the nature of the transaction, the terms of the contract and the intention of the parties. In Dunlop v. Lambert, Lord Cottenham said :. When the party undertaking to consign undertakes to deliver at a particular place, the property till it. reaches that place, and is delivered according to the terms of the contract,- is at the risk of the consignor.” In Calcutta Company v. DeMattos, Mr. Justice Blackburn said: “ There is no rule of law to prevent the parties from making whatever bargain they please. If they use words in the contract showing that they intend that the goods shall be shipped by the person who is to supply them, on terms that when shipped they shall be the consignee’s property and at his risk, so that, the vendor shall be paid for them whether they are delivered at the port of destination or not, this intention is effectual. * * * If the parties intend that the vendor shall not only deliver them to the carrier, but also undertake that they shall actually be delivered at their destination, and express such intention, this is also effectual.. In such a case, if the goods perish in the hands of the carrier, the vendor is not only not. entitled to the price, but he- is liable- for whatever damage may have been sustained by the purchaser in consequence of the breach of the vendor’s contract to- deliver at the place of destination.”

The DeMattos case, abo-ve cited, was decided in the Queen’s Bench by an equally divided court, and in the Exchequer Chamber there was a diversity of opinion among the judges. But on the question of law pertinent to this case there was entire unanimity of opinion among the- judges in both courts. The contract of sale bad been negotiated by correspondence, and the material facts were briefly these r DeMattos contracted to deliver the company one thousand tons of coals, delivered at Rangoon, alongside, &c., at forty-five shillings a ton—payment, one-half by bill at three months on- handing over bilk [622]*622of lading and policy of insurance on the cargo to cover the payment, and the balance in cash on delivery at Rangoon. DeMattos chartered a ship, and shipped on board eleven hun•dred and sixty-six tons of coal and delivered to the company ■•the bill of lading and the policy of insurance, and the company paid the half of the invoice price. On the voyage the :ship became disabled, and, in fact, the coals were not delivered under the contract. Cross suits'were brought—the one by DeMattos to recover the unpaid contract price, the other 'by the' company to recover back the money paid on the contract. The Queen’s Bench (Cockburn, C. J., and Wightman, -J.) decided that DeMattos" could not recover the residue of the ■contract price, and that the company was entitled to recover back the money paid as damages arising from the breach of ■contract.

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Bluebook (online)
23 A. 687, 53 N.J.L. 617, 24 Vroom 617, 1891 N.J. LEXIS 25, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcneal-v-braun-nj-1891.