Dimeling v. Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railway Co.

Citations

• 215 Pa. 480
• 64 A. 677
• 1906 Pa. LEXIS 828

Syllabus

<p>Contract — Oral contract — Insufficiency of language to establish contract— Railroad.</p> <p>In an action against a railroad company to recover a rebate of $3.00 per car on material furnished to the railroad for transportation, it appeared that the plaintiffs and the railroad company had jointly built a branch road connecting with the plaintiffs’ lumber operation, and that the plaintiffs had been reimbursed for their outlay by an arbitrary charge of $3.00 upon each carload of material shipped over the branch, and imposed by the company upon the connecting carriel-. Subsequently plaintiffs acquired other and more distant timber land, and built a tram road at their own expense to reach these lands. Plaintiffs claimed that the defendant had orally agreed to pay to them $3.00 for each car of material delivered from this tram. The plaintiffs testified that they desired the defendant to furnish the iron for the extension, but that this was refused by the officials of the company with whom they had conference. One of the plaintiffs testified “they asked us why we would not bo satisfied with the same arrangement they had with C, that they paid him three dollars a car for all the product he built roads to and delivered to the road. We accepted it and went on and bought the timber and built our road and furnished them all the freight.” Another of the plaintiffs testified “The only thing they could do they might make such arrangement as they had with C, which was three dollars a car.” The second witness was further asked “what was agreed on that day as to how much they would pay you for each product that came out of this timber.” To this he answered “three dollars.” Held, that the evidence was insufficient to establish the contract set up by the plaintiffs.</p>