Rixford v. Smith
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Assumpsit, by Lucius Rixford and others against J. Gregory Smith and others, the defendants, as managers of the Yt. Central and Yt. & Canada railroads, and as common carriers.
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Assumpsit, by Lucius Rixford and others against J. Gregory Smith and others, the defendants, as managers of the Yt. Central and Yt. & Canada railroads, and as common carriers. It was alleged in the declaration, that the defendants .contracted to carry thirty-one young cattle and cows from St. Albans, Vt., to Keene, N. H., and there deliver them; that they were not delivered seasonably, but were unreasonably detained ; and that the defendants so carelessly, negligently, and unskilfully managed, attended to, cared for, and transported said cattle, that they were greatly reduced in weight and…
1Opinion of the CourtDoe, J.
Under some circumstances, and to some extent, common carriers are insurers by force of public expediency or policy recognized by the law as equivalent to practical reasonable necessity. Such policy, amounting to such reasonable necessity, is the reason of the law of common-carriage insurance ; and the reason of the law shows when and to what extent a common carrier is an insurer. What is the reason of the law ?
“ The law charges this person [the common carrier], thus intrusted to carry goods, against all events but acts of God, and of the enemies of the king. For though the force be never so…
2Cases cited7 opinions
- New Jersey Steam Navigation Company v. MERCHANTS'BANK.Supreme Court of the United States · 1848
- Robert Boyce, in Error v. Paul Anderson, in ErrorSupreme Court of the United States · 1829
- Clarke v. . the Rochester and Syracuse Railroad CompanyNew York Court of Appeals · 1856
- Kimball v. Rutland & Burlington RailroadSupreme Court of Vermont · 1854
- Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad v. McDonoughMichigan Supreme Court · 1870
2 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by2 opinions
- United States v. Savage Truck Line, Inc. (Four Cases)Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 1953
- Smart v. American Welding & Tank Co.Supreme Court of New Hampshire · 2003