Baltimore & Ohio Railroad v. Hubbard

Citations

• 72 Ohio St. (N.S.) 302

Syllabus

<p>Shipper of horses signs contract with railway company — At specified freight rates — Carrier to assume liability on the live stock at agreed valuation — Charge to jury — Not error for court to refuse to charge — That according to other conditions, claim, in writing should be filed with the carrier’s agent —Before any liability to exist on the part of the carrier, etc. — Law of contracts — Common carriers — Breach of contract — Estimate of damages.</p> <p>X. Where a shipper of horses signs a contract with a railroad company for their carriage, containing the following stipulation: “The said shipper, or the consignee, is to pay freight thereon to the said carrier at the rate of twenty-two cents per hundred weight, which is the lower published tariff rate based upon the express condition, that the carrier assumes liability on the live stock to the extent only of the following agreed valuation, upon which valuation is based the rate charged for the transportation of the said animals, and beyond which valuation, neither the said carrier nor any connecting carrier shall be liable in any event whether the loss or damage occur through the negligence of said carrier or connecting carriers or their employes or otherwise; — if horses or mules, not exceeding one hundred dollars each;” and the contract is not induced by fraud, concealment or deception, but is fairly made, the same will be upheld as a just and reasonable method of fixing a'due proportion between the amount for which the carrier becomes responsible and the freight he receives, and also of protecting himself against extravagant valuations in case of loss; and recovery for loss or damage will be limited to the amount of valuation ^ named, even if the damage or loss occurs through the negligence of such carrier or his servants. To charge the jury to the contrary is error.</p> <p>2. On the facts disclosed in this case the court did not err in refusing to charge, that “if the jury finds from the evidence that the ho