New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad v. Haslett Warehouse Co.

SHOEMAKER, P. J. Defendant Haslett Warehouse Conn pany appeals from a judgment awarding plaintiff The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company the sum of $9,808.02 as freight undercharges on certain shipments of goods which were consigned to defendant.

There is no conflict in the evidence. It shows that the 21 carload shipments subject of this action were delivered to defendant during the years 1957 and 1958. Plaintiff was the originating rail carrier of the 21 carload shipments and issued the shipping documents pertaining thereto. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company was the final or [187]delivering rail carrier of said shipments. Defendant had no beneficial ownership in any of the shipments, which represented some 250 separate consignments, and took delivery of the 21 cars for the sole purpose of acting as a pool car distributor by unloading the cars, sorting the goods, and delivering them to a trucking carrier for beyond transportation to the ultimate consignee.

Defendant had done business with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company since 1900. During the last 30 years defendant had received approximately 500 cars per year from said railway company. During the years 1957 and 1958, the rates which pool car distributors were required to charge for their services were set forth in tariffs which were published and filed by the California Public Utilities Commission and by an association of which defendant was a member. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company maintained a file of such tariffs.

Defendant’s activities were not confined to pool car distribution alone, however, and it also acted as a public warehouseman and as a common carrier. It had not given the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company written notice that it was acting as an agent only with regard to the 21 cars subject of this action. It similarly had not given said railway company any notice that it would act as an agent with regard to any goods which might be sent by the particular shippers or consignors of the 21 carloads.

Upon taking delivery of the 21 cars, defendant paid in full all the charges shown on plaintiff’s shipping documents. However, it was subsequently learned that said charges were incorrect, being $9,808.02 too low, and plaintiff commenced this action to recover that amount. Defendant resisted the action upon the sole ground that the above mentioned tariffs constituted sufficient written notice, under the particular circumstances of the case, to relieve defendant from liability under title 49, United States Code Annotated, section 3, paragraph (2).