Express Co. v. Caldwell
Supreme Court of the United States
Error to the Circuit Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Caldwell sued the Southern Express Company in the court below, as a common carrier, for its failure to deliver at New Orleans a package received by it on the 23d day of April, 1862, at Jackson, Tennessee; places the transit between which requires only about one day.
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Error to the Circuit Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Caldwell sued the Southern Express Company in the court below, as a common carrier, for its failure to deliver at New Orleans a package received by it on the 23d day of April, 1862, at Jackson, Tennessee; places the transit between which requires only about one day. The company pleaded that when the package was received “ it was agreed between the company and the plaintiff, and made one of the express conditions upon which the package was received, that the company should not be held liable for any loss of, or damage to, the…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Strong
Notwithstanding the great rigor with which courts of law have always enforced the obligations assumed by common carriers, aud notwithstanding the reluctance with which modifications of that responsibility, imposed upon them by public policy, have been allowed, it is undoubtedly true that special contracts with their employers limiting their liability are recognized as valid, if in the judgment of the courts they are just and reasonable — if they are not in conflict with sound legal policy. The contract of a common carrier ordinarily is an assumption by him of the exact duty which the law…
2Cited by164 opinions
- Liverpool & Great Western Steam Co. v. Phenix InsuranceSupreme Court of the United States · 1889
- Hart v. Pennsylvania RailroadSupreme Court of the United States · 1884
- Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Co. v. HarrimanSupreme Court of the United States · 1913
- Phœnix Insurance v. Erie & Western Transportation Co.Supreme Court of the United States · 1886
- Bisso v. Inland Waterways Corp.Supreme Court of the United States · 1955
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