Yokohama Specie Bank, Ltd. v. Trans-Oceanic Co.

WASTE, P. J.

Plaintiff and respondent brought this action to recover from the defendant and appellant possession of 920 tons of steel rails and accessories, or $75,000, the value thereof. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant for possession of the property, and for costs. From the judgment entered thereon the defendant has appealed.

The quantity of steel rails in question was pledged by the Sakura Trading Company, a partnership, its owner, to the respondent as security for loans aggregating $100,000, evidenced by a note for that amount. The money was advanced to enable the partnership to pay for the rails, which were manufactured in Chicago for shipment to Japan. Bills of lading covering the rails were presented to the bank, and drafts representing the purchase price were paid by it. When the rails arrived in San Francisco these bills of lading were delivered by respondent to the Sakura Trading Company to enable it to obtain delivery. The Sakura Trading Company delivered the bills of lading to W. J. Ahern, operating as the Independent Trading Company, who obtained the rails from the carrier and stored them in a warehouse. Non-negotiable warehouse receipts were issued in the name of the Independent Trading Company. Ahern indorsed and delivered these receipts to the Sakura Trading Company, which, in turn, delivered them to the bank. The receipts were then returned by the bank to the Sakura Trading Company in order that they might be changed to negotiable receipts, to be redelivered to the bank. Ahern withdrew the rails from the warehouse and delivered them to appellant’s wharf, taking from the appellant four receipts, which appear to have been returned to the respondent. Contending that the action of Ahern in withdrawing the property from the warehouse and delivering it to the appellant was without its knowledge or consent, the bank notified the defendant that it was entitled to possession of the steel rails; that neither the shipper nor the bank had .consented to the shipment of the property to Japan

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by the defendant. Defendant refused to surrender the property. The present action in replevin was then brought by the bank. The rails were taken from the possession of the defendant by preliminary statutory proceedings and the giving of a bond.

It was the contention of the appellant that the warehouse receipts were delivered by the respondent to Ahern for the purpose of enabling the rails to be withdrawn from storage and delivered to it, to be transported to Japan, pursuant to arrangements theretofore made by Ahern on behalf of the Sakura Trading Company.