Missouri, K. & T. Ry. Co. of Texas v. C. H. Cox & Co.
Missouri, K. & T. Ry. Co. of Texas v. C. H. Cox & Co.
Opinion of the Court
Findings of Fact.
Appellee instituted this suit against the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company of Texas, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company, and the Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf Railway Company to recover damages alleged to have-been suffered by appellee on account of a shipment of eggs made by appellee being sold by the appellant the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company without authority of appellee. Appellants answered that said eggs were unclaimed by the consignee and were sold to prevent the total loss of the same. Appellants tendered into court the sum of $279.45, as full settlement of all claims by appellee against all of ap»;, pellants. The case was tried before the-court without a jury and judgment rendered for appellee for $416.70.
At the request of appellants the court filed its findings of fact ánd conclusions of law, from which it appears that the eggs-were shipped by appellee from Temple, Tex.,, to Little Rock, Ark., “to shipper’s order, notify C. Edward Davis & Co.” ; that said eggs-arrived at Little Rock March 20, 1908; that the time consumed in their transportation was reasonable; that the weather at said time was cool enough for eggs to keep without being under refrigeration; that .upon, arrival of said eggs at Little Rock, the- local agent of appellant Chicago, Rock Island &. Pacific Railway Company was unable to locate C. Edward Davis & Co., and on March-26, 1908, communicated that fact to the-agent of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company at Temple; that on the morning of the 27th of March, the agent of the latter company at Temple notified appellee *1197 of said, fact, and was informed that C. Edward Davis & Co. were a large firm in Little Rock, and gave said agent the address of said firm, and instruetéd said agent to notify the agent of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company at Little Rock that if he could not locate C. Edward Davis & Co. to advise with appellee as to the disposition of the eggs; that appellee was not further consulted as to the disposition of said eggs, but that the same on said day, March 27, 1908, were sold by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company at Little Rock for the sum of $348, or 11.6 cents per dozen; that it was not shown by the evidence that the eggs were in danger of deterioration or had deteriorated at the time of said sale; that said eggs were reasonably worth in the market at Little Rock on the day that they were sold 14 cents per dozen, or the aggregate sum of $420; that there is no statute in Arkansas regulating the sale by railway companies of unclaimed perishable property.
The above findings of fact by the trial court are sustained by the evidence, and we adopt the same as our findings of fact.
Opinion.
1. The first assignment of error is as follows : “The court erred in rendering judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendants, because the same is not supported by the evidence, in that the undisputed evidence shows that the eggs in question were sold as a matter of necessity to prevent a total loss, and for the best price obtainable upon the date in question, to wit, March 27, 1908.”
It will be observed that the assignment does not complain of any specific finding made by the court, but only as to the conclusion of law reached by the court, for the reason that “the undisputed evidence shows that the eggs in question were sold as a matter of necessity to prevent a total loss, and for the best price obtainable upon the date in question, to wit, March 27, 190S.” Waiving the issue made by appellee in its rejoinder that this assignment is insufficient as a basis for an attack upon specific findings by the court, we hold that said assignment is not a correct statement of the law under the facts included in said assignment. It will be observed that said assignment does not include the notification to the shipper by the railway company at Little Rock, nor does it state that such notification could not have been given. The evidence shows that such notification could have been, but that it was not, given.
For the reasons herein stated, the- judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- MISSOURI, K. & T. RY. CO. OF TEXAS Et Al. v. C. H. COX & CO., Inc.
- Cited By
- 1 case
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- Published