Terry v. Southern Ry.
Terry v. Southern Ry.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
In this action of claim and delivery the plaintiff recovered judgment in a magistrate court for the possession of a suit case and contents, or seventy-five dollars, the value thereof, in case a delivery could not be had. The judgment of the magistrate was affirmed by the Circuit Court. 'The facts upon which the appeal turns were not in dispute.
The defendant kept at it© Spartanburg station a room where it received packages for safekeeping. It there received from plaintiff the suit, case and issued to' him a check, or receipt, of which the following is a copy:
“Form- 240. Southern Railwaíy Co.
Package room owner’s duplicate check.
........................................... Station.
Issued..................M..................196..
No. C43101. 10 cents each 24 hours or fraction thereof.”
*281 These stipulations were printed on the back:
“When a parcel is delivered to package room, this stub must be detached and delivered to- owner, which must be surrendered to agent before package can be obtained.
“The party accepting this check hereby agrees-, in consideration of the low rate at which it is- issued, that no claim in excess of ten dollars ($10.00) shall be made against the railroad company for loss of or injury ho any package, valise or other article which may have been deposited with it, and for which this ticket has been issued. W. H. Taylor, General Passenger Agent.”
When the plaintiff requested a return of the case it could not be found; and the defendant’s agents testified that, after careful search, they were unable to account for its disappearance.
The judgment of this Court is that the judgment of the magistrate be modified by reducing the recovery from seventy dollars to ten dollars, the amount of the liability stipulated in the receipt.
Reference
- Cited By
- 9 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Bailor and Bailee — Negligence.—It is not incumbent on bailor, in suit for goods lost by bailee, to show goods were lost by negligence of bailee. 2. Warehouseman — Package Room. — A common carrier in providing a place where packages may be checked and kept for a fee is a warehouseman and may limit its liability for loss of a package by stipulation on the back of the receipt.