Archer-Daniels Linseed Company v. Blue Ridge Despatch
| Decision Date | 03 February 1911 |
| Docket Number | 16,881 - (132) |
| Citation | 129 N.W. 765,113 Minn. 367 |
| Parties | ARCHER-DANIELS LINSEED COMPANY v. BLUE RIDGE DESPATCH and Others |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Action in the district court for Ramsey county to recover $1,376.93 damages for failure to ship linseed oil cake from Philadelphia to Holland during the first half of April, 1908 as agreed. The Blue Ridge Despatch and the Cleveland Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company, two of the defendants, appeared specially and separately moved to set aside the service of the summons upon them by service upon Charles R. Lewis, and to set aside the return of such service. The motions were denied, Kelly, J. From the order denying the motions, the Blue Ridge Despatch and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company took separate appeals. Affirmed.
Unincorporated fast freight line -- service of process on agent.
Several foreign railway corporations, having no lines in this state, entered into an arrangement by which they adopted the name "Blue Ridge Despatch," and under that name established an agency in the city of Minneapolis, and appointed an agent, with authority to solicit business for shipment over its lines. In pursuance of such authority, the agent received money from shippers, in payment for transporting goods over its lines, issued bills of lading, and designated the point of delivery to the initial carrier in Minneapolis. In an action to recover damages, brought by a shipper whose goods were received by the Blue Ridge Despatch at Minneapolis for through shipment:
Held, service of process upon the agent at Minneapolis was service upon the constituent railroad corporations.
How, Butler & Mitchell, for appellants.
Durment, Moore & Sanborn, for respondent.
This is an action to recover damages for negligence in the transportation of linseed oil cake shipped by plaintiff from Minneapolis to Holland. Summons was served upon C. R. Lewis as agent for the Blue Ridge Despatch, and also upon the same person as agent for Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company, under section 4110, R.L. 1905. Both defendants appeared specially and made separate motions to set aside the service of the summons, upon the ground that all the railroad companies constituting the Blue Ridge Despatch and defendant railroad company were foreign corporations, not doing business in Minnesota, and therefore not subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state. Both motions were denied, and separate appeals were taken.
Defendant railroad company is a foreign company organized under the laws of Ohio, with its principal place of business in that state. Its lines extend through the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, but not into Minnesota. It has no property in this state, other than the office paraphernalia.
The Blue Ridge Despatch is a name used to designate what is called the fast freight route. It is not a corporation, but is a consolidation of several foreign railroad soliciting agencies; i.e., the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company, Philadelphia & Reading Company, the Western Maryland Railway Company, the Norfolk & Western Railway Company, and defendant company, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company. Its object is to secure prompt connection and quick service in the transportation of through freight over said lines under joint tariffs filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission by said companies. For that purpose soliciting agents are appointed in different states and localities, whose duties are to solicit and route all freight. C. R. Lewis, of Minneapolis, is one of such soliciting agents, and he has no other authority than the soliciting of freight and the routing of the same over said lines, or some combination of them.
For the purpose of routing freight over said lines the agent selects the local railroad over which the initial carriage is to be performed out of this state, receives the money for the through traffic, and issues a bill of lading. The expenses of the local agent's office and his salary are prorated among the lines constituting the Blue Ridge Despatch. The Blue Ridge Despatch has no income other than the prorated expense, and no property in the state of Minnesota except the office supplies and furniture for conducting the business as above described. The local agent has no authority to quote special rates, and he applies to the general agent of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Company at Chicago for quotations and all rates in reference to export shipments. Freight is never delivered to the Blue Ridge Despatch as such, but is delivered to an initial local carrier in Minnesota.
In this case an export bill of lading was issued by Mr. Lewis, and the freight charges for the entire distance from Minneapolis to Holland were prepaid to him. He selected the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway as the initial carrier, and the bill of lading reads, "received at Minneapolis, Minnesota, by C., St. P., M. & O.R.R.," and was executed by Mr. Lewis as follows: "C. R. Lewis, on behalf of the carriers severally, but not jointly." It is alleged in the complaint that six hundred tons of oil cake, of the value of $18,600, were shipped from Minneapolis in this manner, and that the charges were prepaid, amounting to $2,000, that the defendants had failed to comply with their contract, and that plaintiff was damaged in the sum of $1,376.93.
Appellant relies upon the authority of Green v. Chicago, B. & Q Ry. Co., 205 U.S. 530, 27 S.Ct. 595, 51 L.Ed. 916, Earle v. Chesapeake & O. Ry. Co. (C.C.) 127 F. 235, and Goepfert v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (C.C.) 156 F. 196, and also maintains that the case is governed by North Wisconsin Cattle Co. v. Oregon Short Line R. Co., 105 Minn. 198, 117 N.W. 391....
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