George B. Curd Equipment Co. v. Stave & Timber Corp.
George B. Curd Equipment Co. v. Stave & Timber Corp.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion of the Court by
Affirming.
On February 26, 1920, the appellee, the Stave and Timber Corporation, being the owner of a number of rails in a railroad track, which it was removing, wrote to the George B. Curd Equipment Company asking it to make an offer for the rails. On March 1st the appellee telegraphed the appellant this offer: “For immediate acceptance and subject to our inspection offer forty-two dollars per gross ton for your fifty-six pound relaying rail with bars and spikes weighed in, freight allowed Norfolk, Virginia.” On the same day appellee accepted the offer, as follows: “Your offer received and accepted over one hundred tons rails in our yard at Berkeley outskirts Norfolk ready for inspection.” On April 20th appellant wrote appellee saying that it had sold the rails purchased from it to H. M. Foster Company of Baltimore, Maryland, and same were to be shipped via Pennsylvania railroad, notify H. M. Foster Company. Terms: Sight draft against bill of lading, and “as these drafts are paid by
1. They did not come up to the standard indicated..
2. They were shipped to Baltimore in violation of instructions.
A long correspondence ensued. The remainder of the rails were delivered at Norfolk, Virginia; and accepted and paid for. These two cars remained at Baltimore for months; finally appellant sold them to another customer and they were delivered to this customer by the appellee, who received from the purchaser the price.
After ail this on November 16, 1920, appellant sued appellee to recover $872.56, being the balance coming to it for the rails at $3.00 a ton, less what had been paid. There were in round numbers 392 tons of the rails, which at $3.00 a ton came to $1,176.85, and only $304.29 had been paid to it. Appellee had been required to pay $1,694.88 demurrage on these two cars, which it pleaded as a counterclaim. On final hearing the circuit court gave judgment in favor of appellee for $822.32, and dismissed appellant’s petition; hence this appeal.
There is no dispute in the case that before April 29th shipping orders had been given for these rails to be shipped to Baltimore, Maryland, to' H. M. Foster Company. While it may have been gathered from the letters that the shipping directions had been changed, they are so vague that we can well understand why these two cars were shipped to Baltimore, in view of the fact that the letter containing the clear change of shipping directions was not received by appellee until May 18th, or at least
1. It could refuse to have anything to do with the rails until they were tendered at Norfolk, Virginia, where it claimed they should have been delivered.
2. It could have waived the error in the place of delivery and accept the rails at Baltimore.
It did not follow the first course. On the contrary, knowing the rails were at Baltimore and knowing all the facts, it sold the rails to another purchaser there, and had them delivered to this purchaser. This was an acceptance of the rails at Baltimore, and having accepted the rails there, it must bear the loss.
In view of the whole correspondence, the loss was by reason of its course and not by reason of any fault or failure of appellee.
‘Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.