Fairchild v. Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore R. R.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Fairchild v. Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore R. R., 148 Pa. 527 (Pa. 1892)
24 A. 79; 1892 Pa. LEXIS 1015
Green, McCollum, Mitchell, Paxson, Sterrett

Fairchild v. Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore R. R.

Opinion of the Court

Per Curiam,

We do not think the court below erred in limiting the damages for the loss of the mare to the amount at which it was valued in the bill of lading. The mare was shipped at Washington over the Baltimore & Potomac R. R., and consigned to the plaintiff at Harsimus, New Jersey. It was claimed that when the train reached Baltimore, and had passed into the control and custody of the defendant company, it was suddenly stopped and then immediately started, with such violence as to throw the mare off her feet with such force that her back was *531broken. The jury have found the fact of negligence. The shipping receipt contained this stipulation: “ When a valuation as agreed upon shall be named upon this shipping receipt, it is distinctly understood that such valuation shall cover loss or damage from- any cause whatever.”

The appellant shipped this mare under a special contract arising on a bill of lading. The valuation was that of the shipper. While it is well settled that a limitation in a bill of lading does not relieve the carrier from liability for his own negligence (Penna. R. R. v. Miller, 87 Pa. 395), it is equally well settled in Pennsylvania that a common carrier may limit his liability by special contract: Penna. Co. v. Raiordon, 119 Pa. 577. This written contract was made in the District of Columbia, and is to be interpreted by the lex loci contractus a Forepaugh v. R. R., 128 Pa. 217. In Hart v. R. R., 112 U. S: 331, it was distinctly held that the valuation named in the shipping receipt was binding upon all the parties.

Judgment affirmed.

Reference

Full Case Name
Fairchild v. Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore R. R. Co.
Cited By
6 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
Common carrier — Connecting carriers — Limitation of liability — Lex loci Contractus. While it is well settled that a limitation in a bill of lading does not relieve the carrier from liability for his own negligence, it is equally well settled that a common carrier may limit his liability by special contract. A written contract for carriage of property is to be interpreted according to the law of the place in which the contract was made. Where a railroad company issues a through bill of lading, in which its liability is limited to an agreed valuation, and which contains a clause declaring that this carrier’s responsibility is to cease upon delivery in good order at its terminus in the direction of destination to a connecting carrier, and an accident results while the property is in the hands of the connecting carrier, the limitation of liability applies in favor of the carrier in whose control the property is injured.