AJ Tebbe & Sons Company v. Brown Express
AJ Tebbe & Sons Company v. Brown Express
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
This is a suit by A. J. Tebbe & Sons Company, petitioner, against Brown Express, respondent, for damages to a shipment of 600 sacks of onions. The onions were loaded by petitioner on respondent’s trailer at Carrizo Springs, and respondent issued its uniform bill of lading showing that the same had been received in apparent good order and were consigned to M. R. Davis Bros., Chicago, Illinois. The shipment was interlined with another motor carrier at Dallas but was transported to its destination on respondent’s trailer. The onions were found to be in bad condition upon arrival at Chicago and were sold for salvage.
The case was tried by the court without a jury, and judgment was rendered for respondent. Findings of fact were requested and filed, and the court found, among other things, that the trailer was not equipped with vents, that petitioner was negligent in loading the onions thereon, and that such negligence was the sole proximate cause of the damage. According to the conclusions of law, petitioner was denied a recovery for this reason and also because the court decided that the evidence failed to establish that respondent was negligent or that the damage occurred while the shipment was in respondent’s custody. The Court of Civil Appeals affirmed on the basis of its holdings: (1) that there is evidence to support the trial court’s conclusion that the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C.A., section 20, par. (11), does not apply, and (2) that respondent did not contract to transport such shipment beyond its own lines and therefore is not responsible for damage occurring after the same was delivered to the connecting carrier. 326 S.W. 2d 548.
Congress has provided that with certain exceptions not material here nothing in Part II of the Interstate Commerce Act, where the Carmack Amendment is made applicable to motor carriers, shall include “motor vehicles used in carrying * * * agricultural commodities (not including manufactured products thereof), if such motor vehicles are not used in carrying any other property, or passengers, for compensation.” 49 U.S.C.A., section 303(b) (6). Onions are “agricultural commodities” within the meaning of this section, and the evidence shows that the
In the absence of a statute or special contract, the liability, of a common carrier as such ordinarily terminates when the goods have been carried to the end of its line and delivered to a connecting carrier for transportation to their ultimate destination. But if the initial carrier contracts to carry the shipment to a point beyond its lines, its liability as a carrier extends over the entire route. While courts are in general agreement with respect to these basic propositions, there is a difference of opinion as to the showing that must be made to establish a contract for through transportation by the initial carrier. The English courts and some American cases hold that such an undertaking may, unless there is a qualifying agreement, be inferred from the mere receipt of property for transportation to a place not on the route of the receiving carrier. According to the majority American rule, however, the acceptance of goods consigned to a point beyond the line of the initial carrier is not enough, and the latter’s carrier liability ends when the shipment is delivered to the connecting carrier unless the evidence affirmatively discloses an agreement to carry over the whole route. The latter view has been recognized and approved by the Supreme Court of the United States. See Atlantic Coast Line R. Co. v. Riverside Mills, 219 U. S. 186, 31 Sup. Ct. 164 55 L. Ed. 167; Mich. Central R. Co. v. Mineral Springs Mfg. Co., 116 Wall. 318, 21 L. Ed, 297; Ogdensburg and L. C. R. Co. v. Pratt, 22 Wall. 123, 22 L. Ed. 827; Hunter v. Southern Pac. Ry. Co., 76 Texas 195, 13 S. W. 190; Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. Co. v, Jackson & Edwards, 99 Texas 343, 89 S.W. 968. In Michigan Central R. Co. v. Myrick, 107 U.S. 102, 1 Sup. Ct. 425, 27 L. Ed. 325, the court said that while a carrier may agree that its liability will extend over the whole route, such liability will not attach in the absence of a special agreement to that effect, and that “the agreement will not be inferred from doubtful expressions or loose language, but only from clear and satisfactory evidence.”
Bills of lading containing provisions similar to the one quoted above have usually been construed as an agreement by the receiving carrier to transport only over its own line. See McEacheran v. Mich. Central R. Co., 101 Mich. 264, 59 N.W. 612; Skinner v. Hall, 60 Me. 477; Inhabitants of Plantation No. 4 v. Hall, 61 Me. 517; Glazer v. Old Dominion S. S. Co., 113 N.Y. Supp. 979; Fairfield v. Pacific Coast S. S. Co., 3 Cal: App. 106, 84 Pac. 438; Pennsylvania Co. v. Dickson, 31 Ind. App. 451, 67 N.E. 538. Courts which recognize the English rule seem to experience no difficulty in reaching the contrary conclusion, particularly where the bill of lading contains no limitation of liability and there are other provisions or extrinsic evidence indicating that the receiving carrier did contract to carry the shipment to destination. Elgin, J. & E. Ry. Co. v. Bates Mach. Co. 200 Ill. 636, 66 N.E. 326, 99 Am. St. Rep. 218; cf, Fox v. Canadian Pac. Ry. Co., 260 Ill. App. 482.
Tubize Chattilon Corp. v. White Transp. Co., 6 Fed. Supp. 15, 18, was decided before the Carmack Amendment was made applicable to motor carriers in general and before the passage of section 303(b) (6) which expressly exempts vehicles carrying raw agricultural products. The bill of lading there considered was similar to the one involved in the present case, and the court held that under all of the evidence, including such instrument and the oral testimony, the trucking company had contracted to carry over the whole route. It said that the “claim of exemption from liability” was not established by the bill of lading1,
A reading of the opinion in the Tubize case discloses that the court there adopted the English approach to the problem. It said quite frankly that the majority American rule governing the liability of railroads should not, on grounds of public policy, be applied to motor carriers in view of the different conditions under which they operate. Since Congress has now extended the Carmack Amendment to motor carriers and expressly provided that the same shall not be applicable to vehicles used to transport agricultural commodities, it seems to us that there is no basis for saying that an action for damage to an exempt shipment should be governed by any other rule. The question then is not whether the bill of lading contains a limitation or exemption of liability but whether the carrier has agreed to carry the shipment to its destination or has otherwise assumed responsibility over the entire route.
The provision quoted above does not necessarily limit respondent’s liability or contract of carriage to its own lines. On the other hand we do not find anywhere in the bill of lading an undertaking by the receiving carrier to transport to the destination named therein except where the goods are consigned to a place on such carrier’s route or within the territory of its operations. The evidence does not disclose whether the respondent’s operating authority extends to Chicago, and there are no circumstances indicating that it agreed to carry the shipment there. The transportation charges were to be collected on delivery. Although respondent was quoting at least some of its shippers through rates on onions to Chicago, it does not appear that the parties agreed on such a rate for the shipment in question. While the onions were carried there in the original trailer and the routing and name of delivering carrier were not shown on the bill of lading, these circumstances do not suggest that respondent contracted to transport over the
Apart from the admission previously mentioned, the present record contains nothing to show an agreement by respondent to carry the onions to Chicago. Even if such admission were held to be controlling in spite of the fact that petitioner has not taken that position here or in the courts below, judgment could not be rendered in petitioner’s favor because the amount of the damage was not found by the trial court and is not conclusively established by the evidence. Since we have concluded for the reasons stated below that the cause must be remanded for a new trial even though respondent is not subject to carrier liability over the whole route, the effect of the admission will not be considered further at this time.
The conclusions which are implicit in the trial court’s findings, when considered in the light of the facts established by undisputed evidence, indicate that petitioner may be entitled to recover even though the Carmack Amendment has no application and respondent did not agree to carry the onions to their destination. If an initial carrier negligently furnishes an unsuitable car, it is liable for the resulting damage although the same may occur while the vehicle is on the line of a connecting carrier. This is the common law rule entirely aside from the Carmack Amendment and without regard to whether the defendant agreed to transport the shipment beyond its own lines. See Houston & T. C. R. Co. v. Wilkerson Bros., Texas Civ. App., 82 S.W. 1069 (no writ) ; International & G. N. R. Co. v. Aten, Texas Civ. App., 81 S W 346 (no writ) ; Hunt v. Nutt, Texas Civ. App., 27 S.W. 1031 (no writ) ; St. Louis, I. M. & S. Ry. Co. v. Marshall, 74 Ark. 597, 86 S.W. 802; Jones v. St. Louis & S. F. R. Co., 115 Mo., App., 232, 91 S.W. 158; 13 C. J. S. Carriers, section 51, p. 98; 9 Am. Jur. Carriers, section 891, p. 979. Respondent may not escape responsibility then for damage caused by its own negligence in furnishing an unsuitable trailer simply because the onions did not deteriorate until after they were delivered to another carrier.
The undisputed evidence discloses that respondent was actively soliciting the business of hauling onions and knew that the vehicle furnished by it to petitioner would be used for that purpose. As indicated above, the shipment involved in this case filled the trailer to capacity, and no other commodity was transported thereon. There is nothing in the record to suggest that petitioner selected the vehit e or was under any special obligation
Evidence given by petitioner’s local manager, Joe H. Rugel, supports the conclusion that a ventilated trailer is reasonably required for the safe transportation of onions by truck. If that is so, respondent was under the duty to furnish such a vehicle. Forester & Co. v. Southern Ry. Co., 147 N.C. 553, 61 S.E., 524, 18 L.R.A. (N.S.) 508, 15 Ann. Cas. 143. The trial court evidently accepted Rugel’s testimony, because it found that petitioner was negligent in loading the shipment on an unvented trailer. It also found that such negligence was the sole proximate cause of the damage. In making these findings the court necessarily concluded that the exercise of ordinary care required that the onions be transported in a vehicle equipped with vents and that their deterioration resulted entirely from the failure to do so rather than from some other cause. Since responsibility for use of the unvented trailer rests primarily upon respondent, it seems to us that an incorrect rule of law was applied when the court decided that petitioner had failed to establish that the damage was caused by respondent’s negligence. The case must therefore be remanded for a new trial unless the judgment in respondent’s favor can be supported by the finding that petitioner was negligent in loading the onions on an unvented trailer.
According to some cases, a carrier is not relieved of liability by the fact that the shipper used the vehicle knowing it to be unsuitable. See Ogdensburg & L. C. R. Co. v. Pratt, supra; St. Louis, I. M. & S. Ry. Co. v. Marshall, supra; Annotation, 19 L,R,A, (N.S. 952. This is undoubtedly true where the plaintiff has no reasonable means or opportunity of relieving himself of the situation, but the effect of actual negligence on the part of the shipper has not been considered by the courts when they declare or apply the rule stated in the Ogdensburg case. If it does not appear that another proper vehicle would have been promptly supplied by the carrier upon request, the shipper will not be deemed guilty of contributory negligence, or of having assumed the risk, when he uses the one furnished with knowledge that it is unsuitable. See Missouri, K. & T. Ry. Co. of Texas v. McLean, 55 Texas Civ. App. 130, 118 S.W. 161 (wr. ref.) ; Fort Worth & D. C. Ry. Co. v. Hunt, Texas Civ. App., 258 S.W. 593 (no writ); Sene
The evidence in the present case does not show that petitioner knew the trailer was unvented, and it does not appear that a proper vehicle would have been supplied in time to meet its needs if respondent had been notified that the one furnished was unsuitable. The record merely discloses that the onions were loaded by petitioner on an unvented trailer, and this will not support a finding that the shipper was either negligent or assumed the risk.
The judgments of the courts below are reversed, and the cause is remanded to the district court for a new trial.
Opinion delivered November 23, 1960.
. — It was said in Gulf, C. & S. F. Ry. Co. v. Trawick, 80 Texas 270, 15 S.W. 568, 18 S.W. 948, that railroad companies cannot absolve themselves from their statutory duty to provide suitable pens for cattle by showing that the same were so badly kept or constructed as to make it contributory negligence on the part of the shipper to use them. This decision is not necessarily inconsistent with the rule stated above, because the plaintiff there was probably compelled as a practical matter to use the facilities furnished if he wished to ship his cattle.
. —“The Court of Civil Appeals erred in holding that the bill of lading contract was not a ‘through’ bill of lading in which Eespondent Brown Express contracted as a common carrier for the transportation of Petitioner’s onions to a named consignee at Chicago, Illinois.
Dissenting Opinion
joined by Justice Griffin, dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. The petition for writ of error was granted on Points l
The issues between the parties were sharply drawn. There is even a decided disagreement as to the nature of the suit. Petitioner contends that its cause of action for damages to the shipment of onions is founded upon breach of contract. Respondent says “No.” I agree with petitioner.
On or before May 15, 1956, at the request of petitioner, the respondent delivered its closed trailer to the place designated by the petitioner for the purpose of loading onions. Petitioner had nothing to do with the selection of the trailer or car. Therefore, a discussion of the law applicable where the shipper selects the trailer or car is of no material importance. After the closed trailer was delivered and after a number of sacks of onions had been loaded on the trailer, the respondent issued its uniform straight bill of lading, acknowledging receipt of 600 sacks of onions. The
The trial court found the contract to be one for “through” shipment, but ruled against the shipper for the sole reason that it held recovery could not be allowed because of its opinion that the shipper’s negligence in loading the onions in a vehicle that had no vents precluded recovery, even though the respondent failed to discharge the duty resting solely with it to furnish a trailer suitable for the safe discharge of the onions.
First: Was the contract one for “through shipment?” The respondent admitted, in response to petitioner’s request for admission No. 1, that “it received, by and through its agents or employees, 600 sacks of onions from A. J. Tebbe & Sons Company at Carrizo Springs, Texas, on or about the 15th day of May 1956, and contracted as a common carrier to transport said onions to M. R. Davis Bros., Chicago, Illinois, for which Brown Express issued its uniform bill of lading — not negotiable — domestic, receipting for said onions * * The making of requests for ad7 missions has come to be a common practice. Such practice is a laudable one in that contested issues are often reduced to a minimum because of the answers to such requests. In the present case, in view of the unqualified admission, supra, the petitioner was only required to introduce the request and answer. Petitioner relied upon this admission for all purposes, and not for a limited purpose, as indicated by the court. The admission definitely established a controlling feature of petitioner’s case, to-wit, that the contract was one for a “through shipment.”
The holding of the Court of Civil Appeals, to the effect that the bill of lading contract was not a through contract and contained a limitation of liability to a loss occurring while the goods were in the possession of the origin carrier, can have disastrous results not only to the shipper in the present case on a retrial, but to the shippers of like commodities in the future. The net effect of the holding is to leave the shipper, whose product is damaged in transit, without a remedy. In the case of Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company v. Riverside Mills, 219 U.S. 186, 31 Sup. Ct. 164, 55 L. Ed. 167 and 180, the dire results which would obtain if the holding is left standing is graphically stated in the following language:
“As a result the shipper could look only to the initial carrier
The Court of Civil Appeals’ opinion in effect, constitutes a limitation of liability wherein the origin carrier would only be liable for a loss occurring on its own line. The holding is contrary to all the authoritative decisions on the question. See Tubize Chattilon Corporation v. White Transportation Co., 6 F. Supp. 15; Nebraska Co-operative Creameries, Inc. v. Des Moines Transportation Co., 16 Fed. Supp. 853; Michigan Central R. R. Co. v. Myrick, 107 U.S. 102, 1 Sup. Ct. 425, 27 L. Ed. 325; Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain R.R. Co. v. Jefferson Pratt and Harrison G. Brigham, [22 Wall.], 89 U.S. 123, 22 L. Ed. 827. In this latter case, the court said:
“Was there evidence in this case that the Ogdensburg and L.C.R.R. Co. did contract as a common carrier to transport this property beyond its own terminus over other roads to Boston ? The weight, the force or the degree of the evidence is not before us, if there was competent evidence, on which the jury might lawfully find the existence of the contract alleged.
“If the jury have found in the plaintiff’s favor on the points, upon which evidence legally sufficient to justify it this court cannot interfere with their findings * * * .’
Turning now to the question of the negligence of the respondent in furnishing an unsuitable trailer: There is not the remotest possibility that a question of fact could be raised on that issue. The established facts require this court to render judgment for the petitioner on the issue, provided the amount of damages has been established with certainty. Apparently, the only reason the trial court did not render such judgment was, as announced from the bench, that the petitioner was negligent in loading the onions
The trial court found that the sole proximate cause of the onions being in a damaged and defective condition at destination was that they were transported in an unsuitable vehicle furnished by the respondent.
This finding is supported by the undisputed evidence. The witness Davis testified by deposition. Direct and cross-interrogatories were propounded. All answers showed that the trailer was a Brown Express Trailer No. 664; that the trailer was without any ventilation doors and solid throughout; that there was no ventilation in the truck. This testimony was verified by the written inspection report made by the United States Department of Agriculture Inspection; temperatures ranged from approximately 68 degrees to approximately 80 degrees. A written record of his findings verifies his testimony in this matter.
In holding the petitioner negligent for loading the onions on an unsuitable vehicle that had been furnished by respondent, the trial court was in error as a matter of law. The unsuitable trailer was furnished by the respondent and it should be held to answer in damages for its negligence which was the sole proximate cause of the damages to petitioner’s onions. In the case of Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain R. R. Co. v. Jefferson Pratt & Harrison G. Brigham, supra, the United States Supreme Court had before it the precise question we have here. The question: “Did the plaintiffs, by putting their horses into a car which they knew was defective and unsuitable, thereby assume the risk of such effects and relieve the company from the responsibility.” The answer was in the negative and is decisive of our question. In holding against the contention that the shippers assumed the risk, the court said:
“Third. The loss, it is contended, arose from the defective condition of the car in which the horses were placed, whereby it was exposed to danger from fire. It is said that Pratt was aware of the defective condition of the car; that he voluntarily made use of it, and that the risk of loss by its use thus became his and
“There was a conflict in the testimony upon the point whether other cars were to be had. Pratt testified that he was compelled to take these cars or wait with his horses for a week. The station agent testified that there were other cars which Pratt might have had if he preferred them.
“The authorities sustain the position taken by the judge at the trial.
“In Steam Nav. Co. v. Bk., 6 How., 344, 383, Mr. Justice Nelson says: ‘If it is competent at all for the carrier to stipulate for the gross negligence of himself and servants or agents in the transportation of goods, it should be required to be done at least in terms that would leave no doubt as to the meaning of the parties.’
“To this effect are the New York and Massachusetts cases before cited.
“In [Mich. Cent.] R. R. Co. v. [Mineral Springs] Mfg. Co., 16 Wall., 318 [83 U.S., XXI., 297], it was declared that the court did not intend to relax the rule by which the liability of carriers was established. In [New York Cent.] R. R. Co. v. Lockwood, 17 Wall., 357 [84 U.S. XXI., 627], the following, among other propositions, were reiterated and established by the unanimous judgment of the court :
1. That a common carrier cannot lawfully stipulate for exemption from responsibility. See 22 Wall, when such exemption is not just and reasonable in the eye of the law.
“2. That it is not just and reasonable in the eye of the law for a common carrier to stipulate for exemption from responsibility for the negligence of himself or his servants.
“The judge at the trial in this case might have gone much further than he did, and have charged that if the jury found the Company to have been negligent and careless in furnishing cars,
The undisputed proof in our case is that the petitioner did not select the trailer, and did not assume such duty. The respondent selected and furnished the trailer. Under such circumstances it is bound by the rules announced in the quotation from the Ogdensburg case, supra. It is to be noted that in the Ogdensburg case there was a conflict in the testimony upon the point as to whether other ears were to be had. However, the shipper testified that he had no choice and that he was compelled to take the cars or wait with his horses for a week. The shipper in our case had every right to assume that the respondent had performed its duty and furnished a suitable trailer. It did not select and it was under no duty to inspect the trailer for either latent "or obvious defects. Anyone is bound to know that the shipper is “probably compelled as a practical matter to use the facilities furnished” if he wished to ship sound onions instead of rotten onions. But it is not a question of what might be practical. The respondent was under a duty to furnish a suitable trailer. Its failure was the sole cause of the loss sustained by the shipper.
In the Hines case, supra, the court said:
“The law requires a carrier to furnish such cars as will properly protect the goods that it contracts to ship.
“ ‘The general rule is that a carrier must furnish proper and suitable cars for every kind of goods which it holds itself out as ready to transport. If the carrier has been accustomed or has contracted to carry, or has held itself out as carrying, any particular class of goods, it must provide cars which are suitable for the carriage of such goods.’ 15 Ann. Cas. 144, note.
“ ‘In the fulfillment of its duty to provide safe and suitable cars for the transportation of the goods offered the carrier must provide cars which will protect the goods from the elements, and no defect in the cars will excuse a carrier from liability on proof of injury to the goods.’ ” 10 C.J. 85, 86.”
Assuming that no error otherwise exists, should the cause be remanded to determine the damage issue only, I think not. The
The testimony of Mr. Davis is that on both dates the market value of the onions was $3.50 per sack. So we have the admissions on the one hand fixing a minimum market value of $2.50, and the testimony of Mr. Davis fixing a market value of $3.50. Since the request for admission fixing the minimum market value at $2.50 was framed by the petitioner with such figure stated therein, this court is authorized to render judgment on the basis of 600 sacks of onions at $2.50 per sack. See Owen Development Company v. Calvert, 157 Texas 212, 302 S.W. 2d 640. Unless the petitioner complains, certainly the respondent cannot be heard to question a judgment based on these figures. There is testimony to the effect that the onions sold as salvage for $72.85. However, this sum was applied toward the payment of some $300.00 freight charges.
I would, therefore, reverse both judgments below and render judgment for the petitioner.
Opinion delivered November 23,1960.
Rehearing overruled January 18,1961.
. —“The Court of Civil Appeals erred in not rendering a judgment for Petitioner based upon the undisputed evidence in the case.”
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