Schnitzer Steel Products Co. v. Henry C. Eastburn & Son, Inc.

Carey, J. :

The purpose of this suit is to recover possession of a large Bay City crane, or its value. Ownership is claimed by both parties. It is a case where one of two innocent parties must suffer loss caused primarily by the default of a third person.

In February 1949, plaintiff made a contract for the sale to one Richard Thorpe, who traded under the name of Thorpe’s Machine Company, of several items of large machinery, including the crane here involved. In the same month, plaintiff shipped this machinery from Portland, Oregon, by railroad to its own order at May’s Landing, New Jersey,…