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American railroad and corporation reports
American railroad and corporation reports Author:John Lewis Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: is unloaded from the cars, and that nothing further, so as far the transit is concerned, remains to be done by the carrier, and that thereafter the liability of ... more »the carrier is that only of a warehouseman for hire. This supposition is based on an interpretation of the opinion in the case of Railroad Co. v. Kidd, 35 Ala. 209, which has never obtained in this court, or been entertained by the profession here. That case has always been construed by this court to sustain the rule which extends the liability, as such, for a reasonable time after the transit has been completed, for delivery of goods to consignees. Railroad Co. v. McGuire, 79 Ala. 395. And our later decisions fully support the rule first announced by the supreme court of New Hampshire in the case of Moses v. Railroad Co., 32 N. II. 523, and ably vindicated by Justice Cooley in McMillan v. Railway Co., 16 Mich. 79, and now recognized by text-writers, and by many courts of last resort, as sound in principle ? that the liability of a common carrier by rail, as an insurer of the consignment, continues throughout the transit, and until the goods have been unloaded from the cars and deposited in the depot or warehouse of the carrier, or otherwise made ready for delivery, and a reasonable time thereafter has elapsed to afford the consignee an opportunity to come and take them away, and that only after the lapse of such reasonable time, beginning when the transit is complete, and the shipment is ready for delivery, will the liability ? in the absence of special stipulation?of the carrier, as such, be converted into the less rigid and exacting liability of a warehouseman for reward. Hutch. Carr., § 373 ; 2 Redf. R. R. 79-82 ; Express Co. v. Armstead, 50 Ala. 350 ; Kennedy v. Railroad Co., 74 Ala. 430 ; Railroad Co. v. McGuire, 79 ...« less