Merrill v. Kirkland Construction Co., Inc.

A New Hampshire subcontractor contracts to supply, deliver, and install goods at a job site in Boston. A carrier refuses to transport the goods for the subcontractor’s account and insists on shipment on a “collect basis to the consignee.” The prime contractor orally agrees with the subcontractor to accept collect charges, the subcontractor so informs the carrier, and the carrier then transports the goods, naming the prime contractor as consignee in the bills of lading. This appeal raises the question whether the carrier may recover on the oral agreement. We hold that he may.

The plaintiff…