Northern Pacific Railway Co. v. Wall

Citations

• 241 U.S. 87
• 36 S. Ct. 493
• 60 L. Ed. 905
• 1916 U.S. LEXIS 1804

Syllabus

<p>Laws, in force at tbe time and place of the making of a contract and which affect its validity, performance and enforcement, enter into and form a part of it, as if expressly referred to or incorporated therein.</p> <p>A bill of lading is a contract; and, if interstate, it is to be construed in the light of the provision of the Carmack Amendment, which prescribes how it shall be issued and makes the connecting carrier the agent of the receiving carrier for the purpose of completing the transportation and delivering the goods.</p> <p>Whether in construing an interstate bill of lading issued under the Carmack Amendment due effect is given to the latter is a Federal question.</p> <p>A stipulation in a bill of lading of an interstate shipment of cattle that the shipper must, as a condition precedent to his right of recovery for injury to the cattle while in transit, give notice thereof in writing to some officer or station agent of the initial carrier before the cattle are removed from the place of destination or mingled with other live stock, is to be construed in the light of the Car-mack Amendment making the connecting or delivering carrier agent of the' initial carrier; and notice given to the station agent or officer of the former operates as notice to the latter, and the fact that there is no officer or station agent primarily employed by the initial carrier at the point Of destination does not relieve the shipper from compliance with the stipulation.</p>