McMasters v. Pennsylvania Railroad
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Error to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny county: No. 159, to October and November Term 1870. This was an action brought before an alderman, by John H. McMasters against The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in which judgment was rendered for the plaintiff for $38.81; the defendants appealed to the Court of Common Pleas: in which court the plaintiff declared in assumpsit.
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Error to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny county: No. 159, to October and November Term 1870. This was an action brought before an alderman, by John H. McMasters against The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in which judgment was rendered for the plaintiff for $38.81; the defendants appealed to the Court of Common Pleas: in which court the plaintiff declared in assumpsit. The facts upon which the plaintiff’s claim was founded were these: On the 5th of August 1868, the plaintiff, through Arbuckles & Co., grocers, delivered to the defendants at their freight depot in Pittsburg a barrel of…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered, October 30th 1871, by
Thompson, C. J.
The important question of this case is, whether the common liability'bf common carriers, in its application to carriers by rail, has been or is subject to be modified by usage or custom. That it has been materially modified in its application to the mode of carrying from what it was and is, under the old modes of transit by wagons or by water-craft, every one knows. By the former, the carrier’s liability only ceased with a delivery of the goods to the person, or at the residence or place of business of the consignee;…
2Cases cited3 opinions
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3Cited by8 opinions
- Pennsylvania Railroad v. NaiveTennessee Supreme Court · 1903
- Magyar v. Pennsylvania R. R. Co.Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1928
- Ambler v. PhillipsSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1890
- Silliman v. William Whitmer & SonsSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1899
- Laver v. HotalingCalifornia Supreme Court · 1896
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