Dodge v. Adams Express Co.
Dodge v. Adams Express Co.
Opinion of the Court
After the decision of the supreme court of the United States in Adams Express Co. v. Croninger, 226 U. S. 491,
It is suggested that we ought to adhere to and follow the ruling of this court in Wright v. Adams Express Co., 43 Pa. Superior Ct. 40, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court (230 Pa. 635), until that case has been overruled by the Supreme Court itself. And this would be true, if the decision of the case did not turn on a federal question. Upon all questions of purely state law it is our duty, under the act creating this court, and would be so even if there were no express statutory provision to that effect, to follow the decisions of the Supreme Court of the state "as of binding authority:” Kittanning Boro. v. Kittanning, etc., Natural Gas Co., 26 Pa. Superior Ct. 355, 363. So, also, under the statute, it would be our duty to follow the decision of our Supreme Court upon a federal question, unless such decision were in conflict with a later decision of the Supreme Court of the United States on precisely the same question. But here, the latest decision of the question is by the-Supreme Court of the United States, the court of last resort in cases involving such questions, and, as it is
The decision in Adams Express Co. v. Croninger was a deliberate judgment upon the precise federal question involved in this case, and must be so regarded and followed until it is reversed by the court that delivered it, or a different ruling as to the scope and effect of the decision is given by our Supreme Court.
The order heretofore made is reconsidered and rescinded, the second assignment of error is sustained, and the judgment is reversed with a procedendo.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Dodge v. Adams Express Company
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Carriers — Limitations of liability — Amount—Negligence—Interstate Commerce Act. 1. Where a shipper delivers goods to a carrier in Pennsylvania to be transported to another state under a bill of lading which limits liability to the value stated in the contract, and the carrier, without asking the value of the goods, assesses the charges thereon on the minimum value set forth in the schedule filed by the carrier under the Interstate Commerce Act, and the goods are subsequently lost by the negligence of the carrier, the latter will be liable only for the amount specified in the contract. Courts — Federal question — United States courts — State courts — Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania. 2. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania is bound to follow the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States on a federal question, where that decision is in conflict with a prior decision of the Superior Court, affirmed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on precisely the same question.