Herndon v. Southern Railway Co.
Herndon v. Southern Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
Action for $556.21, the value of a trunk and contents belonging to the plaintiff, and alleged to have been lost in transit.
The main point of contention is in reference to the character of the shipment, interstate, or intrastate, and the ap *468 plicability of the limitation of $100 recovery in case of loss of baggage. The facts are as follows:
The plaintiff, then unmarried, but engaged to a young man in the army at Camp Jackson, lived at Bristol, Va. It had been arranged between them that she should meet him at Spartanburg, where they would be married. She accordingly left Bristol, Va., on January 22, 1921, buying a ticket and having her trunk checked from Bristol, Va., to Johnson City, Tenn. At the latter point she bought a ticket and had her baggage rechecked to Spartanburg. She arrived at Spartanburg via the Carolina, Clinchfield & Ohio Railroad at 6:20 p. m., and, not meeting her fiance there, as was expected, she decided to go on to Columbia. Accordingly she bought a ticket from Spartanburg to Columbia over the defendant’s line, and had her trunk checked to Columbia. The trunk was in good order when it was rechecked at Spartanburg, according to plaintiff’s testimony, as she says she saw it there at that time. The trunk was not delivered to her physically when she surrendered the other check and had it rechecked to Columbia. She left Spartanburg at 7:20 p. m., remaining there only one hour. On arrival at Columbia a trunk bearing the corresponding check was offered to her, but, not being her trunk, it was refused. Subsequently her trunk was located at Sumter, having been entered and robbed of her entire outfit.
Upon the trial, after the plaintiff and her husband had testified, defendant’s counsel, apprehending that the plaintiff’s testimony was directed to establishing an intrastate and not an interstate transaction, and not being prepared to meet this issue, moved for a continuance, which was refused. The defendant offered in evidence the baggage tariff limiting recovery to $100, and at the close of the testimony moved that'the Court direct a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for $100. This was refused, the presiding *469 Judge holding that the transaction was an intrastate one, and not controlled by the interstate limitation. He directed the jury to find for the plaintiff the value of the lost property. The jury returned a verdict for $550. Defendant appeals and raises these questions: (1) Error in refusing (he motion for a continuance; (2) error in not granting (he motion for a directed verdict; (3) error in not leaving the issue of interstate or intrastate character of the transaction to the jury'.
The judgment of this Court is that the judgment appealed from be affirmed.
Reference
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- 5 cases
- Status
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- Syllabus
- 1. Continuance—Motion Because Dependant Not Prepared to Meet Issue Held Addressed to Court’s Discretion.—In a passenger’s action for the loss of her trunk and contents, a motion for a continuance after introduction of testimony, because defendant was not prepared to meet testimony raising the issue of an intrastate transaction, was within the discretion of the presiding Judge, and its refusal was not an abuse of discretion. 2. Carriers—Journey Decided on Apter Reaching Destination op Interstate Trip Held Intrastate, and Not Controlled by Interstate Limitation as to Loss op Baggage.—Where an interstate passenger, after reaching her destination, decided because of the failure of a friend to meet her to go to another place within the State, and rechecked her trunk without physical delivery, such journey was intrastate, and not controlled by the interstate limitation of liability as to loss of baggage. 3 Carriers—Where Evidence Supporting Recovery Was Uncontradicted, Verdict Properly Directed.—In a passenger’s action for the loss of her trunk and contents, where her evidence showed that the journey was an intrastate one, and defendant offered no evidence on that point, a verdict was propex-ly directed.