Union Stone Co. v. Wilmington Transfer Co.

• Decision Date: 19 March 1914
• Citation: 90 A. 407,28 Del. 59
• Court: Delaware Superior Court
• Parties: UNION STONE COMPANY, a corporation of the State of Delaware, v. THE WILMINGTON TRANSFER COMPANY, a corporation of the State of Delaware

90 A. 407

28 Del. 59

UNION STONE COMPANY, a corporation of the State of Delaware, v. THE WILMINGTON TRANSFER COMPANY, a corporation of the State of Delaware

Superior Court of Delaware, New Castle County

March 19, 1914

Superior Court, New Castle County, March Term, 1914.

ACTION OF ASSUMPSIT (No. 114, September Term, 1912) by the Union Stone Company against the Wilmington Transfer Company, to recover for damages to a crane and stone planer alleged to have been caused by the defendant company in carelessly and negligently handling the said property while endeavoring to remove the planer for hire. Verdict for plaintiff.

At the trial, A., vice-president of the plaintiff company, stated That about a week prior to December 12, 1911, he entered into an agreement or contract with B., superintendent of the defendant company, which was engaged in the general hauling business for the public for hire, to move a planer, used in plaintiff's business, from Front and Commerce Streets to Second and Church Streets in the City of Wilmington, for the sum of thirty dollars, the defendant company to have the use of the traveling crane owned by plaintiff, which crane had a capacity of about ten tons, for loading the said planer upon their wagon. That there was only one thoroughfare for wagons in the building where the planer was located, and that was directly in front of the planer, on to Commerce Street. That the other exit was out in the stoneyard and was not used and could not be used without moving fifteen or twenty tons of stone. That the crane, which was operated upon an overhead track which was braced inside of the building, could not be used beyond the edge of the building toward the stoneyard without danger of falling, on account of the liability of the tracks to spread by reason of the absence there of supports or braces, and that there was a piece of timber either 3 x 4 or 4 x 4 placed across the track at that end of the building to prevent such use. That the table of the planer, weighing about three and one-half tons, was moved safely about seven o'clock on the morning of December 12, 1911. The balance of the planer, weighing three and one-half tons, and the crane were in first-class condition and were, on the day of the accident, in the exclusive custody and control of the defendant company. That upon returning to the building in the afternoon, he found the said planer and crane lying upon the ground at the end near the stone pile in a wrecked and ruined condition, and the piece of timber which protected the end of the track was lying upon the roof of the building. That B representing the defendant company, in discussing the accident later with A., stated that "the Wilmington Transfer Company would make good those damages, and went so far as to have me go get a man to give him an estimate on it."

Another witness testified that B., when asked by him how he was getting along with the work, said: "Oh, bad enough. We had quite an accident across the bridge; came near killing a man. We dropped the crane and the planer and it has broken things up in general. I wish I had never bothered with it at all. It will cost us six or seven hundred dollars."

B superintendent of the defendant company, testified that some time in December, 1911, A. spoke to him relative to moving the planer and asked the price, and was told that the defendant company would do it for thirty dollars, provided they could use the crane to load the planer with; that A agreed to this and thereupon a written contract was entered into between the parties; that he asked A. as to the capacity of the crane and whether it was perfectly safe and the latter replied: "It will carry fifteen tons anywhere." B. further stated that there was no other way than that in which they attempted to move it, which was to take it out through the end of the building towards the stoneyard and that there was no stone in the yard that obstructed the passage through it; that on the morning of the accident "we went over there with four men, took our heavy truck in order to load the planer onto the wagon, and upon arrival at the building we ran back to the place where the main portion of the planer was located in the building, fastened the chain hoist on and ran the block back of the traveling crane, hooked it over and picked it up and brought it right straight on across the building, and when we got to the center of the building we turned the crane crossways and ran it to the end of the building and released the planer and let it go down on the crane and moved the side which the traveler runs over on up onto the track and then lifted the planer up again and then pulled it on out, and just as we got out to the end of the building two men were standing under the traveler, one pulling the chain down and the other was making the crane run out towards the end of the building, and another man was on the side of me and they raised it probably a foot or six inches from the ground and the hook on the chain hoist had got caught underneath and one of the men took a crowbar and put it on there to pull the hook out and just as he did the crane fell; the...