Precythe v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co.
| Decision Date | 30 March 1949 |
| Docket Number | 235 |
| Citation | 52 S.E.2d 360,230 N.C. 195 |
| Parties | PRECYTHE v. ATLANTIC COAST LINE R. CO. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
This is a civil action to recover damages for the loss of a carload of cucumbers shipped by the plaintiff from Faison, N. C., on July 13, 1944, to the Naval Supply Depot Seawell's Point, Norfolk, Va.
The 550 bushel baskets of cucumbers were shipped in car FGEX No 15336, freight prepaid, on a uniform straight bill of lading 'Standard Refrigeration'. The car was iced in Wilmington, N. C., July 12, 1944, and arrived at Faison the next morning, and was loaded during the day and part of the night on the 13th. According to the records of the defendant the car left Faison, N. C., at 4:30 a. m., July 14, 1944, and arrived in Rocky Mount at 7:10 a. m., and was re-iced, the re-icing being completed at 12:34 p. m. The car was moved from Rocky Mount by the defendant at 7:10 p. m. on the 14th and delivered to the Virginian Railway Company at Jarrett, Virginia, at 11:14 p. m. the same day. The Virginian Railway Company moved the car from Jarrett around 6:00 p. m. the next day and it arrived at Seawell's Point five hours later, on Saturday, July 15, 1944, and was placed on the delivery track at 8:00 a. m., Sunday July 16. The consignee was not notified until Monday, July 17, at which time an official U. S. Government Inspector found the condition of the car to be 'hatch covers closed, plugs in, bunkers ice about 1 1/2 feet deep at bottom' and the cucumbers decayed to such an extent they were rejected. The car was thereafter re-iced at Norfolk on the 18th or 19th and reconsigned by the Virginian Railway Company to a produce firm in Pittsburg, which firm also rejected the shipment.
The evidence is conflicting as to the original instructions for routing this shipment. The plaintiff testified he gave the local agent of the defendant the name of the consignee and requested him to ship by 'the nearest route', which would have been directly from Faison to Rocky Mount, thence to Norfolk, over the defendant's road, some 24 miles shorter than by way of Jarrett, Va. The defendant offered evidence tending to show the plaintiff gave the shipping instructions.
According to the testimony of the inspector for the State and Federal Departments of Agriculture, this shipment was in good condition when it left Faison, N. C., and according to the defendant's evidence, 'this being a Government car of produce, it was entitled to prompt delivery', and was supposed to be re-iced at all regular icing stations, and 'to be looked after at destination until actually delivered.'
Certain rules governing the shipment of perishable goods were introduced by the defendant, among them being Rule 225 governing Standard Refrigeration Service, and Section (B) reads, in part, as follows: 'After arrival of car in terminal train yard serving destination, and up to the time car is in process of unloading on team track, or until private lock or seal has been applied to car, or until car has been placed on private track, carriers will examine bunkers or tanks daily and re-ice to capacity when necessary.'
The motion of defendant for judgment as of nonsuit at the close of plaintiff's evidence, was overruled, but allowed when renewed at the close of all the evidence. The plaintiff appeals, assigning error.
Langston, Allen & Taylor, of Goldsboro, for plaintiff.
Thomas W. Davis and V. E. Phelps, both of Wilmington, D. H. Bland, of Goldsboro, and W. B. R. Guion, of New Bern, for defendant.
We think the evidence adduced in the trial below is sufficient to warrant the submission of this case to the jury.
The burden of proving the carrier's negligence was upon the plaintiff, and he made out a prima facie case when he introduced evidence to show...
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