Freeman v. Louisville & Nashville R. R.
Freeman v. Louisville & Nashville R. R.
Opinion of the Court
The appellant sued the appellee, in case, for damages for an alleged detention of the former’s ship in the discharge of her cargo at the latter’s terminal wharf in the city of Pensacola, by refusing to receive such cargo for carriage,.over its line of road. The declaration was demurred to and the demurrer sustained, and upon the «plaintiff’s failure to amend, final judg
The declaration demurred to is as follows:
‘Tst. That the defendant was, on the 21st day of January, 1887, and still is, a common carrier of goods for hire over its railroad line beginning on a wharf which constitutes a part of its road, and extended into the bay of Pensacola. That the said wharf was used by the defendant to enable it to receive, from ships, cargoes brought into the port of Pensacola for shipment over the defendant’s lines, and for years past the defendant has received thereat, for shipment, such cargoes from vessels moored thereto. That on said day the plaintiff’s ship, the ‘JohnF. Krans,’ was upon the invitation of the defendant, moored at the defendant’s said wharf and engaged in the delivery of cargo thereat for transportation therefrom over the defendant’s line to points beyond the limits of said State; that the defendant invited the said vessel to said wharf and commenced the receipt of her cargo thereat, as aforesaid, in pursuance of an agreement with the charterer of plaintiff’s said vessel to receive and transport the same from said vessel. That after the first day of February, 1887, the defendant refused to receive cargo from said vessel for the period of ten' days, and thereafter completed the receipt of said cargo, whereby the plaintiff’s said ship was detained for the period of ten days over and above her lay days, and the plaintiff became entitled to demand and receive from the said defendant for such detention of his said ship the sum of fifty dollars per day, the customary demurrage charge for the detention of such a vessel, which the defendant refuses to pay.
2nd. That the defendant was, on the 21st day of January, 1887, a common carrier for hire over its rail*423 road line beginning on a wharf which constituted a part of its road and extended into the bay of Pensacola.. That the said wharf was used by the defendant to enable it to receive, from ships, cargoes brought into the port of Pensacola for shipment over defendant’s line, and, for years past, the defendant has received thereat for shipment, such cargoes from vessels moored thereto. That on said day the plaintiff’s ship was, upon the invitation of the defendant-, moored at the defendant’s said wharf and engaged in the delivery of cargo thereat for transportation therefrom over the defend'ant’s said line to points beyond the limits of said State. That it was the duty of the defendant to receive the said cargo, all of which was, as defendant’s agents well knew, brought into said port for shipment under contract, over defendant’s said line; but, to-wit: on the first day of February, 1887, the defendant refused to receive further of said cargo of said vessel,, and so continued to refuse for the period of ten days, whereby said vessel was detained for the period of ten days, and plaintiff sustained ’ damage in the sum of five hundred dollars.
3rd. .That on said clay the plaintiff had his said ship in the port of Pensacola loaded with a cargo which the plaintiff had agreed with charterer to deliver to the defendant, a common carrier, for transportation. That delivery of same to defendant for transportation over its road to points beyond the State of Florida was-commenced, when the defendant, for the period of ten-days, refused to receive further of said cargo, whereby the plaintiff’s said ship was detained for, to-wit: ten. clays, at an expense to plaintiff of five hundred dollars. Wherefore the plaintiff claims damages in the sum of seven hundred and fifty dollars,” etc.
The judgment appealed from is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- R. R. Freeman v. Louisville & Nashville R. R. Co.
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- VESSELS — DAJIA&ES FOR DETENTION OF — PLEADINGS. Where the owner of a ship sues a connecting railway carrier for damages for the detention of his vessel at the railway’s terminal wharf, in consequence of the latter’s alleged suspension in the receipt of such ship’s caigo, and discloses by his declaration , that such ship was under charter with a third person, not a party to the suit, to deliver her cargo to the defendant railway company, and that the railway company was under contract with such third ¡person there to receive such cargo and the same to carry further: Held, That under these circumstances, the defendant railway company’s duty to receive and carry the cargo was due directly and primarily to such third person, the charterer of the ship, and that lie alone could properly sue for the breach of such duty. And that under these circumstances, if the plaintiff’s ship was wrongfully delayed in consequence of .the negligence of the railway company, as the agent of the charterer, such charterer, as principal, was directly and primarily responsible to the plaintiff as the ship’s owner for her delay in consequence of his railway agent’s wrongful suspension from receiving her cargo, and was the proper person for the plaintiff to have sued for his damage. Where a declaration discloses such a state of facts, and fails further, in a separate count, not otherwise objectionable, to allege that the suspension in the receipt of the cargo complained of was wrongful, and ■ fails to allege any facts from which it could appear that the alleged suspension was either tortious or inexcusable, a demurrer thereto is properly sustained.