Rittenhouse v. . Independent Line of Telegraph
New York Court of Appeals
Appeal from an order of the General Term of the Court of Common Pleas for the city and county of New York, affirming a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, rendered on a trial before Judge Daly without a jury. The plaintiffs delivered to the defendant, for transmission to their brokers, the following message: “ If we have any Old Southern on hand sell same before board. Buy five Hudson at board. Quote price.
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Appeal from an order of the General Term of the Court of Common Pleas for the city and county of New York, affirming a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, rendered on a trial before Judge Daly without a jury. The plaintiffs delivered to the defendant, for transmission to their brokers, the following message: “ If we have any Old Southern on hand sell same before board. Buy five Hudson at board. Quote price. RITTEHHOUSE, FAHT & Co.” By an error in transmitting, the message, as received by the plaintiffs’ agent, read “five hundred” instead of “five Hudson,” and the brokers purchased as for the…
1Opinion of the Court
Earl, C.
This case is fairly controlled by the case of Leonard v. The N. Y. A. & B. Elec. Magnetic Tel. Co. (41 N. Y., 544.) Within the principles laid down in that case, the plaintiffs were clearly entitled to both items of damages claimed by them.
The defendant was liable on the ground of negligence in the transmission of the message; and the negligence is proved by showing that it did not transmit the message in the form in which it was delivered to it. The burden was upon it to show that the mistake happened without its fault. (Shearman & R. on Neg., 609, 610.)
If the defendant’s agents did…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Leonard v. New York, Albany & Buffalo Electro Magnetic Telegraph Co.New York Court of Appeals · 1870
3Cited by32 opinions
- Primrose v. Western Union Telegraph Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1894
- Western Union Telegraph Co. v. HallSupreme Court of the United States · 1888
- Candee v. Western Union Telegraph Co.Wisconsin Supreme Court · 1874
- Tyler, Ullman & Co. v. Western Union Telegraph Co.Illinois Supreme Court · 1871
- Kerr Steamship Co. v. Radio Corp. of AmericaNew York Court of Appeals · 1927
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