Byrd v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co.
Byrd v. Atlantic Coast Line R. Co.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
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The judgment below should be reversed, unless plaintiff will remit $27.80 thereof, and, upon his doing so, it should be affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. I cannot concur in so much of the opinion of the majority as holds that the plaintiff recovered for the full amount of his claim. The intention of the statute is to provide a penalty for failure to pay a righteous claim. Where there is a valid counterclaim established, the recovery is for the difference. If the amount of unpaid freight here had equaled the damage, then the defendant would be required to pay a penalty for failure to pay the plaintiff’s demand, although he did not owe him, and the *7 plaintiff could not get judgment for a dollar. The defendant’s counterclaim was fixed by law. The plaintiff’s claim depended on a matter of fact.
- If the statute had used the word “establish,” then it might be that the penalty would follow, but the word used is “recover,’.’ and, I think, refers to the judgment. Hence I must dissent as to the penalty. I concur as to the amount of freight charges.
Reference
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Carriers—Carriage op Goods—Discrimination;—Under the statute prohibiting carriers from making discriminations, where a railroad issued two hills of lading for plaintiff’s machinery and furniture, respectively, the goods were not shipped as one carload lot, and the road and plaintiff could not validly agree that the shipment should , be considered and treated as a carload lot of either or both. 2. Carriers—Carriage of Goods—Regulation of Rates.—Under the rule of the railroad commission that the charge for less than a carload shipment must not exceed the minimum charge for a minimum carload of the same freight at the same rating, a shipper of less than a carload of machinery was entitled to the minimum carload rate thereon. 3. Carriers—Carriage of Goods—Penalty for Failure to Pay Claim for Damage—Full Recovery.'—-In a shipper’s action against a railroad for damage to the goods, where plaintiff proved damage to the amount claimed, the reduction of the amount by the road’s valid counterclaim for charges did not defeat plaintiff’s right to recover the penalty for the road’s failure to pay his claim for damage.