Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad v. Herndon & Vanduzen

Citations

• 81 Ill. 143

Syllabus

<p>1. Trover—lies against carrier or warehouseman. If goods are shipped by the owner by rail to his own address, and the agent of the railway company delivers the same to an unauthorized person, who advances the freight only, trover will lie against the carrier, although he may afterwards make arrangements whereby to get the goods.</p> <p>3. Carrier—liability not dependent an pre-payment of freight. A carrier may exact payment of charges for carrying goods in advance, or may transport them trusting to its lien and the mode of its enforcement; and if it adopts the latter course, it is bound to the same measure of duty in carrying, storing and holding for the consignee, as if the charges had been prepaid.</p> <p>3. Same—lien, how enforced,. When parties ship fruit trees to a point to their own address, as consignees, the carrier, neither at common law nor by the statute, is authorized to place the trees in the hands of a stranger, with directions to him to sell enough of them to pay the charges of transportation, and if he does he will be liable in trover to the owners.</p> <p>4. Same—not excused from duty by owner’s negligence. The negligence of the consignee of goods to call for the same and pay freight within a reasonable time after they reach their destination, will not justify the carrier in delivering the same to an unauthorized person, or to a person in violation of the written directions of the owner.</p> <p>5. Negligence—to prohibit a recovery. The negligence of a plaintiff, which will prevent a recovery for an injury sustained by reason of the defendant’s negligence, must be such as contributes to the injury complained of—in other words, it must be such that, by the usual course of events, the injury would result, unless without the intervention of other agencies.</p>