Sawyer & Co. v. Southern Pac. Co.
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts |
| Writing for the Court | Before WILKINS; WILKINS |
| Citation | 238 N.E.2d 357,354 Mass. 481 |
| Decision Date | 13 June 1968 |
| Parties | SAWYER & COMPANY v. SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY. |
Page 357
v.
SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY.
Decided June 13, 1968.
Page 358
Frank Infelise, Lynn, for plaitiff.
Earl F. Nauss, Jr., Boston, for defendant.
Richard J. Ferriter, Boston, for Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Co., Edmund M. Sweeney and John A. Briggs, Boston, for Trustees of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Co., and John J. Nee, Roslindale, for Boston & Maine Corp., amici curiae, submitted a brief.
Before WILKINS, C.J., and SPALDING, CUTTER, SPIEGEL and REARDON, JJ.
WILKINS, Chief Justice.
This action of contract or tort is in ten counts for damage or decay allegedly caused to five shipments of cantaloupes from California and Arizona where they were delivered in good order or condition for shipment on bills of lading to the defendant as initial carrier. The plaintiff alleges loss and damage suffered while the shipments were in the possession of the defendant. There was a finding for the plaintiff on each of the counts in contract. [354 Mass. 482] On report to the Appellate Division the findings for the plaintiff were vacated and findings were ordered to be entered for the defendant. The plaintiff appealed.
The sole question reported by the Municipal Court judge to the Appellate Division was the admission in evidence of United States Department of Agriculture inspection certificates to prove the sound condition
Page 359
of the cantaloupes at point of origin. As stated in the opinion of the Appellate Division, '(o)n the basis of these certificates and what they stated, the court would have been warranted in finding that when delivered to the carrier the cantaloupes were free of taint or defect.'The certificates are headed 'United States Department of Agriculture' and are entitled 'Inspection Certificate.' The foregoing is followed by a printed statement which reads: 'This certificate is issued in compliance with the regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture governing the inspection of various products pursuant to the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended (7 U.S.C. §§ 1621 et seq.), * * * and is admissible as prima facie evidence in all courts of the United States.' 1
We are of opinion that the certificates were admissible as business records under G.L. c. 233, § 78 (as amended through St.1954, c. 44i, § 1), which provides in material part: 'An entry in an account kept in a book or by a card system or by any other system of keeping accounts, or a writing or record, whether in the form of an entry in a book or otherwise, made as a memorandum or record of any act, transaction, occurrence or event, shall not be inadmissible in any civil or criminal proceeding as evidence of the facts therein stated because it is transcribed or because it is hearsay or selfserving, if the court finds that the entry, writing or record was made in good faith in the regular course of business and...
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Commonwealth v. Siny Van Tran (and Thirteen Companion Cases 1)., SJC–10425.
...quoting G.L. c. 233, § 78. See Commonwealth v. Kiley, 373 Mass. 454, 462, 367 N.E.2d 837 (1977); Sawyer & Co. v. Southern Pac. Co., 354 Mass. 481, 484, 238 N.E.2d 357 (1968). “It does not follow, however, that the preparer may rely on statements that are not themselves a part of the regular......
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Commonwealth v. Zeininger, SJC–10758.
...of the instrumentalities of government constitute ‘business' within the meaning of the statute.” Sawyer & Co. v. Southern Pac. Co., 354 Mass. 481, 484, 238 N.E.2d 357 (1968), quoting LaPorte v. United States, 300 F.2d 878, 880 (9th Cir.1962). The certification records are derived from a com......
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Com. v. Sellon
...the instrumentalities of government constitute 'business' within the meaning of the statute. . . ." Sawyer & Co. v. Southern Pacific Co., 354 Mass. 481, 484, 238 N.E.2d 357 (1968), quoting from LaPorte v. United States, 300 F.2d 878, 880 (9th Cir. 1962). 16 The absence of any chemical analy......
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Kelly v. O'Neil
...415--417, 140 N.E. 465; Passanessi v. C. J. Maney Co., Inc., 340 Mass. 599, 603, 165 N.E.2d 590; Sawyer & Co. v. Southern Pacific Co., 354 Mass. 481, 484, 238 N.E.2d We add that we are influenced to both these conclusions by a consideration of the uses to which such a report might be put in......
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Commonwealth v. Siny Van Tran (and Thirteen Companion Cases 1)., SJC–10425.
...quoting G.L. c. 233, § 78. See Commonwealth v. Kiley, 373 Mass. 454, 462, 367 N.E.2d 837 (1977); Sawyer & Co. v. Southern Pac. Co., 354 Mass. 481, 484, 238 N.E.2d 357 (1968). “It does not follow, however, that the preparer may rely on statements that are not themselves a part of the regular......
-
Commonwealth v. Zeininger, SJC–10758.
...of the instrumentalities of government constitute ‘business' within the meaning of the statute.” Sawyer & Co. v. Southern Pac. Co., 354 Mass. 481, 484, 238 N.E.2d 357 (1968), quoting LaPorte v. United States, 300 F.2d 878, 880 (9th Cir.1962). The certification records are derived from a com......
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Com. v. Sellon
...the instrumentalities of government constitute 'business' within the meaning of the statute. . . ." Sawyer & Co. v. Southern Pacific Co., 354 Mass. 481, 484, 238 N.E.2d 357 (1968), quoting from LaPorte v. United States, 300 F.2d 878, 880 (9th Cir. 1962). 16 The absence of any chemical analy......
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Kelly v. O'Neil
...415--417, 140 N.E. 465; Passanessi v. C. J. Maney Co., Inc., 340 Mass. 599, 603, 165 N.E.2d 590; Sawyer & Co. v. Southern Pacific Co., 354 Mass. 481, 484, 238 N.E.2d We add that we are influenced to both these conclusions by a consideration of the uses to which such a report might be put in......