Barnes v. Long Island Railroad
New York Supreme Court
Action for damages to 29 yearling colts and fillies in transit. Verdict for plaintiff for $30,000. Motion on the minutes for a new trial; also motion to reduce the verdict to the amount of the limited liability specified in the contract of shipment, vtiiieh question was reserved during the trial.
1Opinion of the Court
Gayuok, J.:
The plaintiffs delivered 29 yearling colts and fillies to the Adams Express Company at Lexington, Kentucky, under a contract with the said company for through shipment by it to Sheepshead Bay, N. Y. The through freight was paid in advance to the said company.. 1. The written contract of shipment limited the carrier’s liability to $75 for each animal. But that clause was void in Kentucky, the constitution of that state forbidding the making of contracts by common carriers for the limitation of their common law liability (Sec. 196). And being void where made the contract is void here…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Cappel v. WeirAppellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York · 1905
3Cited by3 opinions
- Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. v. OsborneSupreme Court of Virginia · 1930
- Barnes v. Long Island RailroadAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1906
- Lauren v. GollinNew York Supreme Court · 1967