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Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. v. McLaughlin

CHESAPEAKE & OHIO RAILWAY COMPANY v. McLAUGHLIN

Chesapeake & Ohio Ry. Co. v. McLaughlin, 242 U.S. 142 (1916)
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Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided
December 4, 1916
Docket
No. 100
Judges
McReynolds
Citations
242 U.S. 14237 S. Ct. 4061 L. Ed. 2071916 U.S. LEXIS 1540
Syllabus
A stipulation in a “uniform live stock contract” signed and accepted by both shipper and carrier to govern an interstate shipment, and declaring in effect that the carrier shall not be liable for loss or dam-' age unless' a claim therefor be made in writing; verified by affidavit, and delivered to a designated agent of the carrier at his office, in a place named, within five days of the removal of the stock from the cars, is on its face unobjectionable and, in the absence of any proof of circumstances tending to render it invalid or excuse a failure to comply with it, will be enforced.
Summary
ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT . OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY, STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA. The case is stated in the opinion.

Syllabus and headnotes are prepared by the reporter or publisher, not the court, and are not part of the opinion.

Opinion — McReynolds

Mr. Justice McReynolds delivered the opinion of the court.

McLaughlin recovered judgment against the railway company in the Circuit Court, Pocahontas County, West Virginia, for injuries to a horse which it transported from Lexington, Kentucky, and delivered to him at Seebert, West Virginia, February 17, 1914. , The shipment was under a “uniform live stock contract” signed by both parties and introduced in evidence by defendant in error which among other things provides:

“That no claim for damages which may accrue to the said shipper under this contract shall be allowed or paid by the said carrier or sued for in any Court by the said shipper, unless claim for such loss or damage shall be made in writing, verified by the affidavit of the said shipper or his agent and delivered to the General Claim Agent of the said carrier at his office in Richmond, Va., within five days from the time said stock is removed from said car or cars; and that if any loss or damages occur upon the line of a connecting carrier then such carrier shall not be liable unless a claim shall be made in like manner and delivered in like time to some proper officer or agent of the carrier on whose line the loss or injury occurs,”

It conclusively appears that McLaughlin did not present a verified claim to the carrier’s agent as provided by the contract. Upon its face the agreement seems to be unobjectionable and nothing in the record tends to establish circumstances rendering it invalid or excuse failure *144 to comply therewith. The court below erred in denying a seasonable request for a directed verdict; and its judgment must be reversed. Our recent opinions render unnecessary any further discussion of the reasons for this conclusion.

Northern Pacific Railway Co. v. Wall, 241 U. S. 87 ;

Georgia, Florida & Alabama Railway Co.

v. Blish Milling Co., 241 U. S. 190 ;

Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway Co.

v. Rankin, 241 U. S. 319 .

Reverse and remand for further proceedings mot inconsistent with this opinion.

Reversed.

How later courts describe this case

No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

Cited by 24 cases

View all citing references →
1917: 61918: 51919: 11920: 21921: 11923: 11924: 21925: 11930: 11932: 11939: 11947: 11961: 119172026peak 1917 · 6

Relies on it most ⓘ

  1. Baron v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique108 F.2d 21 (2d Cir. 1939)
  2. Schaff v. Ike Exstein Bro.270 S.W. 589 (Tex. App. 1925)
  3. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. v. National Fruit Products Co.155 S.E. 630 (Va. 1930)
  4. International Shoe Co. v. Flota Mercante Del Estado29 So. 2d 536 (La. Ct. App. 1947)
  5. Olson v. Chicago, B. & Q. R.250 F. 372 (8th Cir. 1918)
  6. Nashville, C. & St. L. Ry. Co. v. Camper78 So. 925 (Ala. 1918)

Most recent

  1. Warren Alloy Co. v. Blair Transit Co.363 Mich. 358 (1961)
  2. International Shoe Co. v. Flota Mercante Del Estado29 So. 2d 536 (La. Ct. App. 1947)
  3. Baron v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique108 F.2d 21 (2d Cir. 1939)
  4. Freedy v. Trimble-Compton Produce Co.46 S.W.2d 822 (Mo. 1932)
  5. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. v. National Fruit Products Co.155 S.E. 630 (Va. 1930)
  6. Schaff v. Ike Exstein Bro.270 S.W. 589 (Tex. App. 1925)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 3

DepthCaseCited by
Ga., Fla. & Ala. Ry. Co. v. Blish Milling Co., 241 U.S. 190 (1916) 507
Cincinnati, New Orleans & Tex. Pac. Ry. Co. v. Rankin, 241 U.S. 319 (1916) 183
Northern Pac. Ry. Co. v. Wall, 241 U.S. 87 (1916) 95

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