Selma & Meridian Railroad v. Butts & Foster
Supreme Court of Alabama
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Dallas. Tried before Hon. John Moore. This is an action commenced, by Butts & Poster, against tbe Selma &, Meridian Railroad Company; by summons and complaint, on the 6tb day of April, 1866, in the circuit court of the county of Dallas, in this State, for the value of thirty bales of cotton. The complaint contains four counts. The first is for shipping said cotton without instructions of the owners, and its loss thereby.
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Appeal from the Circuit Court of Dallas. Tried before Hon. John Moore. This is an action commenced, by Butts & Poster, against tbe Selma &, Meridian Railroad Company; by summons and complaint, on the 6tb day of April, 1866, in the circuit court of the county of Dallas, in this State, for the value of thirty bales of cotton. The complaint contains four counts. The first is for shipping said cotton without instructions of the owners, and its loss thereby. The second, for shipping said cotton to improper persons, at Selma, without the knowledge and instructions of the owners, and its loss. The…
1Opinion of the Court
PETERS, J.,
(after 'stating facts as above). — 'The railroad companies of this State are common carriers. A common carrier is one who undertakes, for hire, to transport from place to place the goods of such persons as choose to employ him (Pierce on R. R. Law, p. 46]. They are public agents, and for reasons peculiar to the important trusts which their employment involves, they are properly held to the most stringent responsibility. They are, to a certain extent, the insurers of the goods entrusted to them for transportation, and they are bound to deliver them agreeably to their engagements,…
2Cited by4 opinions
- Grey v. Mobile Trade Co.Supreme Court of Alabama · 1876
- Mobile & Girard Railroad v. PrewittSupreme Court of Alabama · 1871
- Mobile & Ohio Railroad v. MaloneSupreme Court of Alabama · 1871
- Connell v. Call-A-Cab, Inc.Supreme Court of Alabama · 2006