Guaranty Trust Co. v. Mobile & Ohio Railroad

Citations

• 110 Miss. 514
• 70 So. 585

Syllabus

<p>1. Fraud. Sale of false bill of lading. Liability to purchaser. Carriers. ■ Ratification.</p> <p>Where plaintiff in New York purchased false bills of lading with foreign exchange- attached for two shipments of export cotton of one hundred bales each, bearing certain marks, purporting to have been issued by the defendant railroad, and thereafter the alleged shipper procured the defendant railroad, which acted in good faith, to issue true bills of lading to its-agent and to sign a telegram to its broker in New York, stating , that it had received two export shipments of cotton of the same marks, which shipments under true bills of lading were stopped by the holder thereof, and the foreign exchange draft was never honored, and plaintiff lost the money advanced on the false bills of lading. In such case since there was no misrepresentations in the telegram,' which stated the truth, plaintiff could not recover of defendant on the ground that the telegram had misled it and caused the loss.</p> <p>2. Same.</p> <p>In such case since the railroad company was obliged to deliver the cotton to the holder in good faith on the true bill of lading or stop the shipment on the order of the true holder of the good bill of lading, there could not be any ratification of the forged bills of lading.</p> <p>3. Carriers. False Mils of lading. Telegram. LiaMlity. Estoppel.-</p> <p>Under tRe facts in this case tRe sending of tRe telegram at 'tRe request of tRe sRipper’s agent for Ris accommodation by defendant’s agent who was familiar witR tRe metRods by which export shipments of cotton were bandied, and wRo knew or should have known, that tRe telegram was intended for the use of the purchaser of the exchange in selling it, or in disposing of the ladings, did not estop the defendant from disputing the fact that the bills of lading purchased by plaintiff were false, since the statement in the telegram was true, and its agent might presume good faith on the part of its shippers, and that no