Sutton v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co.

Citations

• 14 S.D. 111
• 84 N.W. 396
• 1900 S.D. LEXIS 15

Syllabus

<p>1. Comp. Laws, § 3905, provides that, if a common carrier accepts freight for a place beyond his line, unless he stipulates otherwise, he must deliver it at the end of his line to some other competent carrier, and that his liability shall cease on making such delivery. Held, that an instruction in an action for a loss in shipment, which imposed on the receiving carrier a continued liability beyond his own line, and covering the negligence of the connecting carrier, was erroneous, since under the statute the liability of the receiving carrier ceased on delivery of the goods to the connecting carrier.</p> <p>2. Where plaintiff, in an action against a carrier for a loss sustained in shipment, did not claim that a through contract was entered into, the question whether the amount collected by defendant’s local agent to apply on prepayment of freight charges was sufficient to cover the entire amount collectible, including the charges of connecting lines, was immaterial, since a local agent, as such, has no authority to contract for shipments over connecting lines, and none can be inferred from the fact that he collected freight for the entire distance.</p>