Collins v. Union Pacific Railroad

Citations

• 96 Kan. 581
• 152 P. 649
• 1915 Kan. LEXIS 439

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Shipping Contract — Household Goods — Declared Values — Goods Damaged — Amount of Recovery. The plaintiff shipped certain household goods, total weight 2200 pounds, from North Platte, Neb., to Kansas City, Kan., over defendant’s railroad, signing a bill of lading which contained the provision “Owner’s risk, value $10.00 a hundred-weight.” A piano included in the shipment was damaged, and in the admission of evidence and in the instructions the theory of market instead of actual value was followed. Held, error, but as the competent evidence warranted the amount allowed by the jury the error is nbt such as to justify a reversal.</p> <p>2. Same. The shipment included a rug worth $21 but weighing less than 100 pounds. No separate release or contract of valuation aside from the bill of lading was signed by the shipper. Two rates were in force, the one charged on the basis of a valuation named in the bill of lading and a higher one in case the valuation was not limited. Held, that the plaintiff can recover only for the weight of the rug at $10 a hundred pounds, and that having signed the bill of lading containing the valuation he is presumed to have known the rates in force and is bound by the one named in the bill of lading.</p>