Johnson Lumber Co. v. Great Northern Railway Co.

This action was brought to recover the value of a carload of shingles, described in a bill of lading issued by the general freight agent of the Great Northern Railway Company at Seattle. The appellant’s defense is that the bill of lading was obtained by respondent’s assignor in exchange for a forged bill of lading under a mutual mistake of facts, and that the shingles had never been received or shipped by appellant. To this defense respondent replied that it purchased the genuine bill of lading in good faith for value, without knowledge of the circumstances under which it was issued. The bill…