United States v. Cleveland, C., C. & St. L. Ry. Co.
| Decision Date | 30 January 1920 |
| Docket Number | 9934,10088. |
| Citation | 262 F. 775 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio |
| Parties | UNITED STATES v. CLEVELAND, C., C. & ST. L. RY. CO. (two cases). |
E. S Wertz, U.S. Atty., of Cleveland, Ohio.
Cook McGowan, Foote, Bushnell & Lamb, of Cleveland, Ohio, for defendant.
These cases arose under the twenty-eight hour stock law act of June 29, 1906 (U.S. Comp. Stat. 1916, Sec. 8651). Defendant has filed an answer to the first, fourth, and fifth causes of action in case No. 9934, and to the first and second causes of action in case No. 10088, and to these answers plaintiff has demurred generally.
All the answers set up the same defense in precisely the same language, varying only in describing the shipment and in one respect, presently to be noted, in the answer to the fourth and fifth causes of action in case No. 9934. All the shipments were made in interstate commerce from an originating point on the lines of the New York Central Railroad Company to the destination point, somewhere east of Cleveland, Ohio, in which routing and carriage the defendant's road formed no part. The answers, after admitting the shipments as alleged and that the cattle were confined in all cases for a continuous period in excess of 36 hours without being unloaded for rest, feed, and water, sets up a defense which can best be stated by quoting it:
'Further answering, defendant says that said cattle shipment originated on the lines of the New York Central Railroad Company, and was to be transported entirely over the lines of said railroad company to the city of New York, in the state of New York; that in the course of transportation of said cattle from Chicago, Illinois, to the city of New York, New York, over the lines of said railroad company, it became necessary for said railroad company to unload said stock at Cleveland, Ohio, for the purpose of resting, feeding, and watering the same, in compliance with the laws of the United States governing the transportation of such stock; that said New York Central Railroad Company, not having any stockyards of its own, or on the line of its railroad, at Cleveland, Ohio, has contracted and arranged with the Cleveland Union Stockyards Company at Cleveland, Ohio, for the performance by it of such service, said Cleveland Union Stockyards Company being located on the line of the railroad of this defendant; that for the purpose of reaching the yards of said Stockyards Company this defendant permitted said New York Central Railroad Company to transport said cars of cattle to said stockyards, over the line of railroad of this defendant, from the point of connection between its railroad and that of said New York Central Railroad Company, defendant receiving for such service a switching charge in the sum of two dollars and fifty cents ($2.50); that said switching charge formed no part of the through rate charged for the transportation of said stock, and defendant's road, over which said service was performed, formed no part of the through route for the transportation of said stock from point of origin to destination thereof, and defendant was not a connecting carrier of said stock; that said stock was transported to said stockyards over defendant's tracks in the ordinary and usual time required for such service, and was delivered to said stockyards company at its said stockyards in sufficient time for said stock to be unloaded before the expiration of the period of thirty-six hours allowed by law for the continuous confinement of such stock without food, rest, or water; that any confinement of said stock beyond said period of thirty-six hours was due solely to the failure of said New York Central Railroad Company and of said Cleveland Union Stockyards Company, their agents and servants, to unload said stock within said statutory period; that the service provided and furnished by said...
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