United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

City National Bank v. El Paso R. Co., 262 U.S. 695 (1923)

City National Bank of El Paso v.

El Paso & Northeastern Railroad Company

No. 309

Argued March 12, 1923

Decided June 11, 1923

262 U.S. 695

Syllabus

Where a bank was accustomed, through an agent, to make interstate shipments of cattle to another bank in care of a commission company, sending its drafts on the commission company for the purchase

Page 262 U. S. 696

price, with bill of lading attached, to the consignee bank, with instructions to release the cattle on payment of the drafts, and had ratified delivery of shipments to the commission company before payment of such drafts, and where, on making a further shipment, the direction in care of the commission company was, by mutual mistake of the agent and the receiving carrier, omitted from the bill of lading, but, at the command of the agent, was noted on the way bill, and the terminal carrier delivered the cattle of this shipment to the commission company without surrender of the bill of lading or payment of the draft, and the draft was not paid, held that the terminal carrier had a right to assume that delivery might properly be made to the commission company, and that delivery so made was delivery to the consignee bank; hence, the provisions of the Carmack Amendment had no application.

225 S.W. 391 affirmed.

Certiorari to a judgment of the Court of Civil Appeals of Texas affirming a judgment for the respondent railroad companies in an action by the petitioner bank to recover for their alleged failure to make delivery of a shipment of cattle in accordance with a bill of lading issued by the initial carrier.