Robertson v. Sichel

• Decision Date: 14 May 1888
• Parties: ROBERTSON v. SICHEL
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

8 S.Ct. 1286

127 U.S. 507

3 L.Ed. 203

ROBERTSON v. SICHEL.

May 14, 1888.

This is an action at law, brought in the city court of the city of New York, by Emilie Sichel, an infant, by Joseph Sichel, her guardian ad litem, against William H. Robertson, collector of customs for the port and collection district of New York, and removed by the defendant into the circuit court of the United States for the Southern district of New York. The object of the suit was to recover damages for the loss of the contents of a trunk belonging to the plaintiff, who was a passenger by the steam-ship Egypt, of the Inman Line, from Liverpool, and arrived at New York, at the pier of the ship, on the 31st of January, 1883. She was 16 years of age, and was a first-cabin passenger. She made a baggage declaration, under oath, which stated that she had two trunks and two bags, containing 'wearing apparel in actual use and personal effects not merchandise.' She declared 'nothing new or dutiable.' Her baggage was examined on the dock, and one trunk was detained by the customs officers, who gave her a receipt therefor, signed by an inspector, which stated that the inspector had sent the one trunk, for appraisement, to the public store, under a baggage permit. She was directed by the officers to call, the next day, at the public store to receive the trunk. This trunk contained her personal effects, which cost her $400. The only thing in the trunk not wholly intended for her own use was 10 pounds of chocolate, valued at about $2.50, part of which she ate, and she intended to eat the balance in company with some of her young friends. This was her first visit to America. She was a native of Germany, and at the time of her arrival was unfamiliar with our language and customs. She did not know and could not understand the nature and effect of the baggage declaration which she was asked to sign, and it was not explained to her. In the trunk, with her clothing and wearing apparel, were some paper boxes containing some brass ornamental jewelry on cards, given to her abroad of the value in all of about one dollar, some of which she had worn, some old lace curtains, six table-cloths, and twelve napkins, a gift from her mother, the ten pounds of chocolate, and three corsets, one of which she had worn. On the next day the usual order was made, on an application signed by the plaintiff, for an appraisement of the contents of the trunk. The plaintiff demanded the trunk at the public store, but did not receive it, because it had been destroyed by fire, on the pier of the ship, on the night of January 31, 1883. It was proved on the trial that, on the morning after the arrival of the ship, the deputy collector issued an order to the clerk in the collector's department at the custom-house for the appraisal of the trunk, and that there could be no appraisal without a permit from the collector. At the close of the plaintiff's case, the defendant asked the court to direct a verdict for him, on the ground that, the action being one for personal negligence, the plaintiff had not brought home to the collector personally any connection with the trunk at the time it was destroyed; and that, if any negligence was to be imputed to the subordinate officers of the customs, such negligence could not be imputed to the collector. The court refused to grant the motion, and the defendant excepted. Evidence was then introduced on the part of the defendant tending to show that the inspector on the dock who examined the trunk discovered what, in the exercise of his discretion, he determined to be dutiable articles; that he reported to his superior officer that he thought the trunk contained dutiable articles, and that officer told him to see what else he could find; that he found other dutiable articles; that he attempted to find an appraiser to appraise and assess duties upon those articles, but did not find one; that he reported to the staff officer having charge of the passengers and their baggage from that steamer, and, under his advice, marked the trunk for the public store, to be examined by the proper examiner, and have the duties assessed, under a section of the regulations for the government of officers of the customs under the superintendence and direction of the surveyor of the port of New York, which was admitted in evidence, and was as follows: 'In the absence of the entry clerks or appraiser, dutiable articles taken from passengers' baggage will be sent by the inspector, as soon as possible, to the public store, and the passenger will be furnished by the inspector with the usual baggage certificate;' that, the trunk having been thus marked for the public store, and a receipt given to the plaintiff, it was put into the charge of the discharging officers of the vessel; that the inspectors were allowed to send goods to the public store for appraisement only through a custom-house cartman; that the discharging officer who received the plaintiff's trunk did not send it to the store-house, because there was no cartman on the pier to take it away, and none came to do so, though an effort was made to procure one; that the trunk remained on the pier under his custody, and was totally consumed by fire on the night of the 31st of January,—the officers who were there being driven away by the flames; and that the fire occurred between 2 and 3 o'clock A. M. of the day following that of the arrival of the steamer. It also appeared in evidence that, under article 431 of the customs regulations, it was the duty of the collector, on the arrival of any steamer of a regular line from a foreign port, to detail an experienced entry clerk, who, with a similar clerk to be designated by the naval officer, and an assistant appraiser or examiner to be detailed by the appraiser, should, together with the inspector on board, examine all the passengers' baggage, place the dutiable value upon the same, and, if dutiable articles were found, appraise the same, and assess the duty thereon. It also appeared that all those officers were on the dock on that day. The follw ing regulations were then put in evidence: 'The Laws and Regulations for the Government of Officers of Customs under the Superintendence of Surveyors of Ports. 1877.' 'Art. 104. Whenever any trunk or package brought by a passenger as baggage contains articles subject to duty, and the value thereof exceeds $500, or if the quantity or variety of the dutiable articles is such that a proper examination, classification, or appraisement thereof cannot be made at the vessel, the trunk or package will be sent to the public store for appraisement.' 'Art. 117. In the absence of the entry clerk or appraiser, dutiable articles taken from passengers' baggage will be sent by the inspector, as soon as possible, to the appraiser's store, and the passenger will be furnished by the inspector with the usual 'baggage certificate,' which will be in the following form: Inspector's certificate of goods sent to public store under baggage permit. PORT OF _____, _____, 18__. On board ship. I have sent to public store under 'baggage permit' the following articles said to belong to _____, (describe the articles.) _____, Inspector.'

By the government's report in this case the value of the property in Miss Sichel's trunk was alleged to be $100 only, while the plaintiff did not claim the value to be over $400. Peterson, the government inspector, did not make a written report of the case to the government until about two months after the arrival of the steamer. He did this at the request of the surveyor, and it was no part of his duty to make it as requested. The same inspector, Peterson, had signed and issued the certificate on the baggage declaration. There was an appraiser on the pier in question some time on that day. The trunk in question was the only seizure or detention of passengers' baggage made on that dock on the day in question. The defendant himself, being put upon the stand and duly sworn, testified that he was the collector of the port of New York; that he had in the neighborhood of 1,200 subordinates under him; that, approximately, the average annual importations into the port of New York, passed through the custom-house, were of the value of five hundred millions of dollars; that he knew nothing about the trunk imported by Emilie Sichel by the Egypt on January 31st, at the time of its importation; that he was not on the dock at the time; that it was no part of his duty to pay any attention to the actual arrival of the passengers' baggage, or* pass- ing it through the custom-house, or ordering it to the public store, or examining it to see if there were any dutiable goods, or to have anything to do with it; that, as a matter of fact, he had nothing to do with it; and that the first time his attention was called to the matter of this trunk was long after the fire, some time in September, 1883. The evidence being closed, the defendant moved the court to direct a verdict in his favor upon the same grounds on which the motion was made at the close of the plaintiff's case;...