Texas Ry Co v. Clayton

• Decision Date: 20 February 1899
• Docket Number: No. 222,222
• Citation: 43 L.Ed. 725,19 S.Ct. 421,173 U.S. 348
• Parties: TEXAS & P. RY. CO. v. CLAYTON et al
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

173 U.S. 348

19 S.Ct. 421

43 L.Ed. 725

TEXAS & P. RY. CO.

v CLAYTON et al.

No. 222.

February 20, 1899.

Rush Taggart and Arthur H. Masten, for plaintiff in error.

Treadwell Cleveland, for defendants in error.

Mr. Justice HARLAN delivered the opinion of the court.

This action was brought by the defendants in error, subjects of the queen of Great Britain and Ireland, against the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, a corporation existing under an act of congress approved March 3, 1871 (16 Stat. 573, c. 122), and engaged in the business of a common carrier of merchandise for hire. Its object was to recover the value of 467 bales of cotton destroyed by fire.

The complaint alleged that in the month of October, 1894, at Bonham, Tex., the plaintiffs delive ed to the defendant railway company 500 bales of cotton, which it agreed to carry safely and securely, at a through price or rate, from the place of shipment to Liverpool, England, by way of New Orleans, and there deliver the same on the payment of the freight; that the defendant failed to keep its agreement, and to carry safely 467 of the bales of cotton to Liverpool, and there to deliver the same, although the plaintiffs had duly demanded delivery thereof, and had been at all times ready and willing to pay the freight for the carriage; that through its negligence and carelessness, and without the fault of the plaintiffs, those 467 bales, worth $17,314.43, were, on or about November 12, 1894, wholly destroyed by fire at Westwego, La., 'at which time and place the same were in the possession of the defendant, in the course of such carriage, and as a common carrier'; and that the defendant has refused, upon plaintiffs' demand, to pay the value of the cotton so destroyed.

The defendant admitted the destruction of the cotton by fire at the time and place named, but made such denial of the material allegations of the complaint as put the plaintiffs on proof of their case.

The plaintiffs, having read in evidence the bills of lading, and made proof of the value of the cotton, as shown by certain stipulations between the parties, rested their case. Thereupon the defendant moved the court to direct the jury to render a verdict in its behalf. That motion was denied, with exceptions to the defendant. At the close of all the evidence, the jury, by direction of the court, returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs for the sum of $14,068, and judgment for that sum, with costs, was entered against the defendant company. Upon writ of error to the circuit court of appeals, that judgment was affirmed. 51 U. S. App. 676, 28 C. C. A. 142, 84 Fed. 305.

The action was based upon four bills of lading issued by the railway company. Two of them were dated October 10th, and the others October 15th and October 23d, respectively. They are alike in form, and identical in respect of the terms and conditions of the contract. Each one showed a receipt by the railway company of a given number of bales, 'in apparent good order, and well conditioned, of Castner & Co., for delivery to shippers' order or their assigns, at Liverpool, England, he or they paying freight and charges as per margin'; also, that the cotten received was to be carried 'from Bonham, Texas, to Liverpool, England; route, via New Orleans and Elder, Dempster & Co. Steamship Line.'

Each bill of lading contained also the following clauses:

'The terms and conditions hereof are understood and accepted by the owner.

'Upon the following terms and conditions, which are fully assented to and accepted by the owner, viz.:

'(1) That the liability of the Texas and Pacific Railway Company, in respect to said cotton, and under this contract, is limited to its own line of railway, and will cease, and its part of this contract be fully performed upon delivery of said cotton to its next connecting carrier; and in case of any loss, detriment, or damage done to or sustained by said cotton before its arrival and delivery at its final destination, whereby any legal liability is incurred by any carrier, that carrier alone shall be held liable therefor in whose actual custody the cotton shall be at the time of such damage, detriment, or loss.

'(2) That the rate of freight for transportation of said cotton, specified in the margin hereof, is quoted and guarantied with the distinct understanding, and only on condition that the weight of said cotton is truly and correctly represented and stated; that said rate only includes the charge for transportation, and the specification of said rate shall not be taken as any guide for construction or evidence to extend this contract in other respects, or to bind the Texas and Pacific Railway Company to transport or to become in any wise responsible for said cotton after delive y thereof to its next connecting carrier, but shall only bind said company to protect said rate.'

'(5) It is further agreed that, in case said cotton is found at point of delivery to have been injured by any of the excepted clauses specified in this bill of lading, the burden of proof shall be upon the owner of said cotton or claimant to establish that such injury resulted from the fault of the carrier.

'(6) That the said cotton shall be transported from the port of New Orleans to the port of Liverpool, England, by the Elder, Dempster & Co. Steamship Line, with liberty to ship by any other steamship or steamship line; and, upon delivery of said cotton to said ocean carrier at the aforesaid port, this contract is accomplished; and thereupon and thereafter the said cotton shall be subject to all the terms and conditions expressed in the bills of lading and master's receipt in use by the steamship or steamship company or connecting lines by which said cotton may be transported; and, upon delivery of said cotton at usual place of delivery of the steamship or steamship lines carrying the same, at the port of destination, the responsibility of the carriers shall cease.'

The facts out of which the case arises are these: The railway company had warehouses and yards in New Orleans, where its road terminated. Westwego is a branch station or terminal opposite that city. The company had a wharf, with tracks and an office and sheds on it; the wharf having been constructed over the Mississippi river, so that cars could be run upon the railroad tracks in its rear, and unloaded, and so that vessels could come to its front to receive freight placed on it. The cotton in question was unloaded at the wharf at various dates from October 22 to November 4, 1894, and was burned while on the wharf, in the evening of November 12, 1894.

On each of the bills of lading are the following words: 'T. & P. Contract No. 44.' It does not appear that the shippers were informed what were the terms of that contract. It was in proof, however, that it was, in substance, a contract with the Elder, Dempster & Co. Steamship Line to connect with the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, and receive from the later 20,000 bales of cotton during the months of October, November, and December, 1894, on the conditions specified on the reverse side of the contract. Those conditions do not affect the questions here presented, but it was proved that the railway and the steamship companies agreed that the place of delivery of the cotton under the contract between them should be the wharf at Westwego.

The mode in which the railway company and the steamship company transacted business was as follows: Upon the shipment of cotton, bills of lading would be issued in Texas to the shipper. Thereupon the cotton would be loaded in the cars of the railway company, and a waybill, indicating the number and initial of the car, the number of the bill of lading, the date of shipment, the number of bales of cotton, the consignor, the consignee, the date of the bill of lading, the number of bales forwarded on that particular waybill, the marks of the cotton, the weight, rate, freights, amount prepaid, etc., would be given to the conductor of the train bringing the car to Westwego. Upon the receipt of the waybill and car at Westwego, a 'skeleton' would be made out by the clerks at that place for the purpose of unloading the car properly. It contained the essential items of information covered by the waybill, and had also the date of the making of the skeleton. When this skeleton had thus been made out, and the car had been pushed in on the side track in the rear of the wharf, it would be taken by a clerk known as a 'check clerk,' and with a gang of laborers, who actually handled the cotton, and were employed by the railway company, the car would be opened; and, as the cotton was taken from the car bale by bale, the marks would be examined, to see that they corresponded with the items on the skeleton, and the same were then checked. Th cotton thus taken from the car was deposited at a place on the wharf designated by the check clerk, and it would remain there until the steamship company came and took it away. After the checking of the cotton in this way to ascertain that the amounts, marks, and general information of the waybill were correct, the skeleton would be transmitted to the general office of the Texas & Pacific Railway Company in New Orleans, which thereupon would make out what was designated as a 'transfer sheet,' that contained substantially the information contained in the waybill, and which, being at once transmitted to the steamship company or its agents, was a notification, understood by the steamship company's agents, that cotton for their line was on the wharf at Westwego, ready for them to come and take away. Upon the receipt of these transfer sheets, the stemship company would collate the transfers relating to such cotton as was destined by them for a particular vessel, advise the railway company with the return of the transfers that this cotton would be taken by the vessel named, and would thereupon send the vessel with their stevedores to the wharf at Westwego. The clerk at...