J. S. Appel Suit & Cloak Co. v. Platt
J. S. Appel Suit & Cloak Co. v. Platt
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court:
In this action the plaintiff in error sought to recover from the defendant in error the full market value of a, package of cloaks, shipped from New York to Denver. •The package was never delivered. The defendant in error, as agent of and for the express company, plead non-liability in excess of $50 upon account of the provisions in the receipt given the consignor when the shipment was made. This plea was sustained.
The receipt executed by the express company contained a clause exempting it from loss or damage not due to its fraud or gross negligence, and providing that it should in no event be held liable or responsible “beyond the sum of $50, at which sum said property is hereby valued, unless the just and true value thereof is stated
The consignor was a- wholesale cloak house in New York. Mr. Hochner, its shipping clerk, testified, in substance, that the book of express receipts containing the receipt in question had been used for express shipments by, and was continuously in'the possession of, the consignor from January 3rd, 1907 to March 16th, 1907 (the latter being the date of the delivery of this shipment); that prior to January, 1907, a similar book had been used; that after the shinment in question had been wrapped and marked, an employe of the shipper made out the receipt in question covering this and other packages consigned to other consignees; that all the writing on this receipt, including the name of the consignor, date of the receipt, number of articles, names of the consignees, and the destination of each shipment, except the name “Linder” (the express driver’s signature) was inserted by an em
The first question to determine is whether the operation and effect of the contract for-this interstate shipment is governed by the local law of New York, or of Colorado, or by the act of congress regulating interstate commerce. This question has been settled by the supreme court of the United States in Adams Express Co. v. Croninger, 226 U. S., 491, 33 S. C. Rep. 148, 57 L. Ed. wherein it is held that such shipments, are regulated by the 1906 act of congress amending the Interstate Commerce Act. This ruling, which must be followed by us,
The second question pertains to the validity of that portion of the receipt which seeks to limit the liability of the carrier in case of loss, upon account of the alleged agreed value. Many reasons are urged why such contracts should not be enforced. The cases cited bearing upon such questions disclose that the language used in the different receipts- is so different that each decision was usually based upon the wording of the instrument in the particular case. This has brought about an apparent additional conflict upon the question, and were it not for several recent decisions of the supreme court of the United States we would feel compelled to enter into a more thorough consideration of this question. In Adams Express Co. v. Croninger, supra, as above stated, it is held that such interstate shipments are regulated entirely by the act of congress. This case also holds that contracts limiting the liability of the carrier in case of loss upon account of the declared value of the article fixed by the shipper when they are fair, open and reasonable,' and made for the purpose of obtaining the lower of two or more rates, are valid. Other late cases where agreed value clauses (in case of loss) have been sustained are, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Co. v. Miller 226 U. S., 513, 33 S. C. Rep. 155, 57 L. Ed: Chicago, St. Paul, etc. Ry. Co. v. Latta, 226 U. S., 519, 33 S. C. Rep. 155, 57 L. Ed—: Wells, Fargo & Co., et al. v. Neiman-Marcus Co., 227 U. S. 469, 33 Sup. Ct. Rep. 267, 57 L. Ed: Kansas City S. R. Co. v. Carl, 227 U. S. 639, 33 Sup. Ct. Rep. 391, 57 L. Ed.—:Missouri, K. & T. R. Co. v. Harriman Brothers, 227 U. S. 657, 33 Sup. Ct. Rep. 397, 57 L. Ed.— These cases overrule decisions by the courts of Kentucky, Nebraska, Arkansas, Texas and the United States Circuit
Counsel for plaintiff in error call attention to our 1907 act in relation to intrastate shipments and say it is almost identical in language with the 1906 act of congress amending the interstate commerce act, for which reason they claim that the ruling here will, in effect, be a construction of the Colorado statutes. In considering this matter we have not had occasion to study the provisions of our act pertaining to intrastate shipments, but upon account of this suggestion we think it proper to state that this ruling is based entirely upon the act of congress pertaining to an interstate shipment, the interpretation given to it by the supreme
The' judgment is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Ci-iiee Justice Mussbr and Mr. Justice Gabbert concur.
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