Austin v. Heath

Plaintiff sues for the value of 20 bales of cotton stored in defendant’s warehouse and destroyed by fire of unknown origin during the night of Sunday, October 14, 1923.

As the defendant, as bailee of the cotton, has shown that the cotton was destroyed by an overwhelming force, the burden of proof is on plaintiff to show that the fire originated or was permitted to spread through some fault or negligence on the part of defendant. McCullom v. Porter, 17 La. Ann. 89; Scott v. Sample, 148 La. 627, 87 So. 478.

The evidence in this case shows that the defendant owned a small tin-inclosed ware house…