Schade Transfer & Storage Co. v. Alabam Freight Lines
| Decision Date | 16 March 1953 |
| Docket Number | No. 5562,5562 |
| Citation | 254 P.2d 800,75 Ariz. 201 |
| Parties | SCHADE TRANSFER & STORAGE CO., Inc. v. ALABAM FREIGHT LINES. |
| Court | Arizona Supreme Court |
Struckmeyer & Struckmeyer and Jack C. Cavness, Phoenix, for appellant.
Langmade & Sullivan, Phoenix, for appellee.
Action by Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company, herein referred to as the plaintiff, against Alabam Freight Lines, a common carrier, herein referred to as the defendant, for damages to personal property alleged to have been caused by unloading same in a negligent and improper manner. Upon motion by the defendant the court ordered that appellant, Schade Transfer and Storage Company, Inc., be made a third party defendant. Defendant filed third party complaint alleging it employed appellant to supply the unloading facilities to unload the property and that negligence, if any, as charged in plaintiff's complaint was the negligence of appellant and a liability, if any, owing to the plaintiff was recoverable from appellant. Issues were joined on the allegations of the complaint and the third party complaint, trial was had before the court without a jury, and judgment was entered for the plaintiff against the defendant on the complaint and in favor of defendant and against third party defendant, appellant herein, on the third party complaint.
By proper assignments of error third party defendant presents the question of whether there was any evidence that would legally warrant judgment against it.
The following is a fair statement of the undisputed facts: Defendant is a common carrier of property by motor vehicle and the plaintiff delivered to the defendant a reel of lead cable for shipment from Flagstaff to Phoenix; upon its arrival in Phoenix, the defendant's driver, not being able to unload the same without help, called third party defendant and requested a winch truck with an operator to help unload. Present at the unloading process were defendant's driver, third party defendant's operator and a clerk, employee of the plaintiff. There was some discussion between the three concerning the proper manner of unloading. Defendant's driver testified that he and the operator of the winch talked over the proper method of performing the task and agreed upon what they considered a safe means, description thereof being unnecessary herein. The third party defendant's operator and defendant's driver testified in effect that the employee of the plaintiff insisted upon another manner which, it is claimed, resulted in an unsuccessful effort and damage to the property. Plaintiff's employee denied such insistence upon any method of unloading but testified he might have made some suggestions. It is conceded that 'the sole cause of damage to the reel of the cable was the fact that the winch was improperly hooked on to the reel.'
Third party defendant contends that the plaintiff, through its agent having insisted upon the method of unloading, relieved all parties from liability and consequently it was not liable to the defendant. The evidence was conflicting as to whether plaintiff's agent insisted or only suggested the method used. The court in arriving at the conclusion reached evidently found plaintiff's agent merely made suggestions which would not be sufficient to relieve a common carrier of its obligations to safely deliver property. Defendant takes the position that the unloading was a part of the transportation and that a common carrier is virtually an insurer of the safe transportation of property of this character. This seems to be the general rule and the holding of this court. Southern Pacific Co. v. Itule, 51 Ariz. 25, 74 P.2d 38, 115 A.L.R. 1268. On this basis...
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Essex Wire Corp. of Cal. v. Salt River Project Agr. Imp. and Power Dist.
...between tort-feasors in this state. Blakely Oil, Inc. v. Crowder, 80 Ariz. 72, 292 P.2d 842 (1956); Schade Transfer & Storage Co. v. Alabam Freight Lines, 75 Ariz. 201, 254 P.2d 800 (1953); United States v. State of Arizona, 214 F.2d 389 (9th Cir. 1954). Cf. Ambrose v. Standard Oil Company ......
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Taylor v. DiRico
...judicially created rule in Arizona does not rest on a firm foundation. Its origin appears to be Schade Transfer and Storage Co., Inc. v. Alabama Freight Lines, 75 Ariz. 201, 254 P.2d 800 (1953). Schade involved a claim for indemnity by a defendant against an impleaded third party defendant.......
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United States v. State
...time obtaining recoupment either by contribution or indemnity from the second tort-feasor. The case of Schade Transfer & Storage Co. v. Alabam Freight Lines, 75 Ariz. 201, 254 P.2d 800, relied upon by this court in its opinion herein, may not be identical, but this court still concludes the......
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United States v. State of Arizona
...being established, to recover from Y corporation, also liable to the injured boy for the same tort. Schade Transfer & Storage Co. v. Alabam Freight Lines, 75 Ariz. 201, 254 P. 2d 800. Returning to the record, we find that Arizona's motion to dismiss stated its grounds therefor as "1. The co......