{ "id": 1513787, "name": "Arkansas Midland Railroad Company v. Moody", "name_abbreviation": "Arkansas Midland Railroad v. Moody", "decision_date": "1909-03-29", "docket_number": "", "first_page": "70", "last_page": "73", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "90 Ark. 70" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "Ark.", "id": 8808, "name": "Arkansas Supreme Court" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 34, "name_long": "Arkansas", "name": "Ark." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "81 Ark. 549", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 1530649 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/81/0549-01" ] }, { "cite": "89 Ark. 591", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ark.", "case_ids": [ 1515196 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ark/89/0591-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 287, "char_count": 5801, "ocr_confidence": 0.639, "pagerank": { "raw": 7.60112441117523e-08, "percentile": 0.4500717995527925 }, "sha256": "3c39b84cf6a0b5f3cb58653d69b3b4deff940eeee323fc85cabd5fa8110ea87b", "simhash": "1:c72ad1a8c08b2bd0", "word_count": 963 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T18:13:08.486087+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [], "parties": [ "Arkansas Midland Railroad Company v. Moody." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "Wood, J.,\n(after stating the facts.) The agent of the compress company, who received the cotton from appellant at Helena, testified: \u201cThat the letters \u2018O. K.,\u2019 over his signature on the receipt, indicated that the three bales of cotton from H. W. Moody to Lee Pendergrass were received by the Citizen\u2019s Compress Company in good order on the 5th day of December, 1906.\u201d\nIf the compress company was the agent of Pendergrass, the consignee, then-, when the cotton was delivered to it in \u201cgood order,\u201d the duty of appellant was terminated, and it was no longer liable to appellee. If, on the other hand, the appellant has failed to show that the compress company was the agent of Pendergrass, then it has not discharged its duty under the contract, and is liable for the damages resultant. The only question then is, does the uncontroverted evidence show that the compress company was the agent of Pendergrass?\nThe testimony of the agent of the compress company is that the company received the three bales of cotton shipped by Moody to Lee Pendergrass on December 5, 1906, in good order, and that the company handled other cotton \u00a9hipped to Lee Pendergrass. Sometimes he had several hundred bales stored with the compress. So far as he knew, the Citizen\u2019s Compress Company, of which he was agent, received \u201call cotton consigned to Lee Pendergrass.\u201d There was another compress and cotton warehouse at Helena at the time. It was the custom for cotton consigned to commission merchants or cotton factors to be delivered to .the compress company. Appellee objected to the evidence as shown by the last sentence above.\nThe appellant did not prove beyond controversy the existence of a custom \u201cthat would justify it in delivering the cotton to the compress company as .the agent of Pendergrass. Merchants\u2019 Grocery Co. v. Ladoga Canning Co., 89 Ark. 591; Ward Furniture Mfg. Co. v. Isbell, 81 Ark. 549. The burden as to this was on appellant. The court properly submitted the question as to whether .the compress company was the agent of Pendergrass, and it was a jury question. There was no error in the rulings of the court. The verdiot is sustained by the evidence. The judgment is therefore correct, and is affirmed.", "type": "majority", "author": "Wood, J.," } ], "attorneys": [ "E. B. Kinsworthy, Lewis Rhoton and Thos. T. Dickinson, for appellant.", "H. A. Parker, for appellee." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "Arkansas Midland Railroad Company v. Moody.\nOpinion delivered March 29, 1909.\nEvidence \u2014 burden of proof \u2014 matter of defense. \u2014 Where a railroad company, sued for failure to deliver cotton in good order to the consignee, defends upon the ground that the cotton was delivered in good condition to a certain compress company as agent of the consignee, the burden of proving such agency is- on the defendant.\nAppeal from Monroe Circuit Court; Eugene Lankford, Judge;\naffirmed.\nstatement by the court.\nAppellee shipped over appellant\u2019s line of railway from Blackton to Helena two bales of cotton weighing 1120 pounds, and worth 11J2 cents per pound. The cotton was consigned to Lee Pendergrass. The cotton was shipped on the 29th day of November, 1906.. The cotton was in good condition when received by the appellant. It was shipped under a limited liability contract entered into with appellee for a reduced consideration in the freight rate. The uncontradicted proof was that the cotton was delivered by appellant to the compress company at Helena, December 5, 1906, and received- by it as in \u201cgood order.\u201d The compress company delivered the cotton to the consignee December 7, 1906. The bales were marked damaged. They were sold at a fair market value for cotton of the character, and netted $47.48. They should have netted appellee, but for their damaged condition, the sum of $128.38. Pie sued the appellant and also the compress company for the difference, $77.20, alleging joint negligence.\nThe court instructed the jury at the request of appellee as1 follows:\n\u201cThe court instructs the jury that if -they find from the evidence in this case that defendant railway company received the two bales of cotton in controversy at Blackton, Arkansas, and agreed in its bill of lading to deliver said two bales of cotton to Lee Pendergrass at Helena, Arkansas, and failed to do so, that is, deliver them in a reasonable time, .then the defendant railway company is liable to the plaintiff for said cotton or its value.\u201d\n2. \u201cThe court instructs the jury that the defendant railway company cannot escape liability to plaintiff for failing to deliver said cotton to Pendergrass in good order in a reasonable time by delivering same to any other person, party or corporation, unless they had authority from said consignee to do so.\u201d\nAppellant duly objected and excepted.\nAnd at the request of appellant gave the following:\n3. \u201cIf you find from the testimony that the Citizen\u2019s Compress Company was the agent of Lee Pendergrass, the consignee of the cotton in controversy, and that the railroad company delivered said cotton to the said compress company in good condition, then your verdict should be for the defendant, Arkansas Midland Railroad Company.\u201d\nThe following prayers of appellant were refused:\n1. \u201cYou are instructed to return a verdict for the defendant Arkansas Midland Railroad Company.\u201d\n2. \u201cIf you find from the evidence that the persons to whom the cotton in controversy was consigned were accustomed to have cotton consigned to him or them delivered to the Citizen\u2019s Compress Company, and you further find from the evidence that the cotton sued for was delivered in good condition by the defendant railroad company to said compress company, then your verdict should be for the defendant, Arkansas Midland Railroad Company.\u201d\nThe verdict and judgment were in favor of appellee against appellant and the compress company for $77.32, and appellant railroad company prosecutes this appeal.\nE. B. Kinsworthy, Lewis Rhoton and Thos. T. Dickinson, for appellant.\nH. A. Parker, for appellee." }, "file_name": "0070-01", "first_page_order": 94, "last_page_order": 97 }