Houston & T. C. R. Co. v. Westbury
Houston & T. C. R. Co. v. Westbury
Opinion of the Court
The parties to this appeal have agreed upon. a statement of facts,' of which the following is the substance: On July 4, 1917, the appellee owned 78,800 pounds of scrap iron located at Chandler, Tex., on the line of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company. On that date he entered into a contract for the shipment of the iron to Houston, Tex., consigned to the Houston Bottle Supply Company subject to the provisions of the bill of lading attached. The shipment was to move over the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company of Texas to Corsicana, thence over the Houston & Texas Central Railroad to Houston. The car containing the scrap iron was transported promptly to Corsicana, and there delivered to the Houston & Texas Central Railroad Company for carriage to its destination. It reached Houston on July 18, 1917, but was not delivered to the consignee on that date because the car was by mistaké moved by another railroad company to a point in Louisiana. It was returned to Houston on July 28th, but when tendered to the consignee was refused. This scrap iron had been sold to the Houston Bottle 'Supply Compiany by the appellee for $15 per ton f. o. b. the cars at Chandler, Tex., and the Houston Bottle Supply Company would have accepted and paid for the iron had it arrived in Houston within la reasonable time after the date of shipment. The appellee was not notified of the refusal of the Houston Bottle Supply Company to accept the shipment until August 7th following. He immediately went to Houston, and, after making considerable efforts to sell the iron, finally succeeded in disposing of it at $8 per ton f. o. b. the cars at Houston. The iron was sold lat that price with the knowledge and consent of the appellant’s agent at Houston. The appellee paid the freight on the car, which amounted to $88.56,' and a demurrage charge of $7. He incurred (an expense of $23.30 in going to Houston and disposing of the goods. After deducting these items he had a net balance of $176.34 left from the proceeds of the sale of the iron. Upon these facts the trial judge rendered a' judgment in favor of the appellee against the appellant for $397.16. The finding of the court on the issue of damages, and the judgment entered thereon for $377.16, represents the difference between the contract price for which the iron had been sold f. o. b. the cars at Chandler and the net amount subsequently realized for it in the Houston market after deducting freight charges, demurrage, and expenses. To this he added $20 as attorney’s fees.
A]Jpellant contends that, there being no evidence that the railway company had any notice of the. contract price at which the goods had been sold to the Houston Bottle Supply Company, it could not be held responsible for more than the market value of the goods at the point of destination.
It is conceded by the appellee that the court erred in adding $20 as attorney’s fees as a penalty for failure to sooner settle this claim, and the judgment will be reformed *385 (accordingly. As so reformed, it will be affirmed, and the costs of this appeal adjudged against the appellee.
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