Legal Opinion

Alabama Great Southern Railroad v. Little

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided December 15, 1882PublishedCited by 18 opinions

Appeal from Tuscaloosa Circuit Court. Tried before Hon. "VVm. S. Mudd. This was a suit by James Little against the Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company, a corporation operating a railroad, to recover damages for defendant’s failure to deliver a barrel of alcohol, received by it as a common carrier, to be delivered to plaintiff at defendant’s depot at Tuscaloosa.

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Appeal from Tuscaloosa Circuit Court. Tried before Hon. "VVm. S. Mudd. This was a suit by James Little against the Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company, a corporation operating a railroad, to recover damages for defendant’s failure to deliver a barrel of alcohol, received by it as a common carrier, to be delivered to plaintiff at defendant’s depot at Tuscaloosa. On the trial “ plaintiff introduced evidence tending to show that R. Macready and Co. had shipped to him a certain barrel of alcohol, purchased of them, which the Cincinnati Southern Railway Company received in the city of…

1Opinion of the CourtBeickell, C. J.

By the common law a common carrier is absolutely liable for the safety of goods entrusted to him for tranportation; he is responsible for all injuries or losses, which, in the language of the books, can not be directly “traced to the act of God, or of the public enemy, or of the party complaining.”—1 Smith’s Lead. Cases (7th Amer. Ed.), 411. For goods which he fails to deliver, the measure of his liability is the value of the goods at the place of delivery, at the time at which they ought to have been delivered.—-Angelí on Carriers, § 482. Proof that goods entrusted to him for transportation…

2Cases cited8 opinions

  1. Railroad Co. v. LockwoodSupreme Court of the United States · 1873
  2. New Jersey Steam Navigation Company v. MERCHANTS'BANK.Supreme Court of the United States · 1848
  3. Magnin v. . DinsmoreNew York Court of Appeals · 1877
  4. Steele v. TownsendSupreme Court of Alabama · 1861
  5. Hooper v. Wells, Fargo & Co.California Supreme Court · 1864

3 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.

3Cited by18 opinions

  1. Ex parte Louisville & Nashville R. R.Supreme Court of Alabama · 1912
  2. Southern Express Co. v. OwensSupreme Court of Alabama · 1906
  3. Railway Co. v. WynnTennessee Supreme Court · 1890
  4. Southern Express Co. v. HanawSupreme Court of Georgia · 1910
  5. Louisville & Nashville R. R. v. OdenSupreme Court of Alabama · 1885

13 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.

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