ST. LOUIS AND SAN FRANCISCO RAILROAD COMPANY
v.
SHEPHERD

U.S. | 1916-02-21
No. 160
240 U.S. 240 Supreme Court of the United States (1916) Positive Treatment
Also reported at: 60 L. Ed. 622 · 36 S. Ct. 274 · 1916 U.S. LEXIS 1446 · SCDB 1915-095
Cited by 46 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

A railroad company sought review of a judgment awarding damages for unreasonable delay in transporting cattle from Texas to Missouri in 1909. The Supreme Court dismissed the writ of error, finding that the Carmack Amendment claim was waived because it was raised too late in a petition for rehearing, and that the claim under the federal statute limiting cattle confinement in transit cars lacked merit because the jury instruction properly allowed the railroad to escape liability if the transport could not reasonably have been completed within the statutory thirty-six-hour limit.

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.

Opinion of the Court
Mr. Justice Van Devanter

Mr. Justice Van Devanter delivered the opinion of the court.

This was an action for damages resulting, as was alleged, from unreasonable delay in transporting cattle from Fort Worth, Texas, to Kansas City, Missouri, in May, 1909. The plaintiff had a verdict and judgment and the latter was affirmed. 40 Oklahoma, 589. The errors assigned áre that due effect was not given to certain provisions of the Carmack. Amendment to the Interstate Commerce Act (§ 7, c. 3591, 34 Stat. 584, 595) or to the act hmiting the time that cattle in interstate transit may be confined in cars without being unloaded for rest, water and feed, 'June 29,1906, c. 3594, 34 Stat. 607.

The claim under the Carmack Amendment was first set up and asserted in a petition for rehearing after the. judgment in the trial court was affirmed by the Supreme Court of the State. The petition was not entertained, but was denied without passing upon the Federal question thus tardily raised. That question therefore is not open to consideration-here. Pim v. St. Louis, 165 U. S. 273; Mutual Life Ins. Co. v. McGrew, 188 U. S. 291, 308; McCorquodale v. Texas, 211 U. S. 432, 437; Forbes v. State Council of Virginia, 216 U. S. 396, 399; Consolidated Turnpike Co. v. Norfolk &c. Ry., 228 U. S. 326, 334.

The cláim made under the other act was, that part of the delay was excusable, because the transportation reasonably could not have been completed within the maximum timer — thirty-six hours — during which the cattle 'could be confined in the cars and it therefore became necessary under the act to unload, them for rest, water and feed for at least five hours, .as was done. Whether the transportation reasonably could have been completed within thirty-six hours was the subject of direct and conflicting testimony and was committed to the jury as a question of fact. In that connection the court said to the jury: “You are instructed that under the laws of the United States the defendant company could not keep the stock in this shipment in the cars longer than thirty-six hours and if you find from the evidence that it was not reasonably possible that the shipment should reach Kansas City' within the thirty-six hour limit, then it is not liable for the delay caused by the unloading of the stock.” No exception was reserved to .this instruction, no modification of it was suggested and no other instruction upon the subject was requested. It therefore is apparent that the assignments based upon this statute are so devoid of merit as to be frivolous.

Writ of error dismissed.

Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus

Citator

Cited By (23 total)

  • Tidal Oil Co. v. Flanagan, 263 U.S. 444 (U.S. 1924)
    …ial of the petition by the state court without opinion, is not enough. Godchaux Co. v. Estopinal, 251 U. S. 179, 181; Bilby v. Stewart, 246 U. S. 255; Missouri Pacific Ry. Co. v. Taber, 244 U. S. 200; St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. Co. v. Shepherd, 240 U. S. 240, 241; Consolidated Turnpike Co. v. Norfolk, etc. Ry. Co., 228 U. S. 326, 334; Forbes v. State Council of Virginia, 216 U. S. 396, 399; McCorquodale v. Texas, 211 U. S. 432, 437; Mutual Life Ins. Co. v. McGrew, 188 U. S. 291, 308; Mallett v. North Ca…
  • Godchaux Co. v. Estopinal, 251 U.S. 179 (U.S. 1919)
    …if first presented in a petition for rehearing, it comes too late unless the court actually entertains the petition and passes upon the point. Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. McGrew, 188 U. S. 291, 308; St. Louis & San Francisco R. R. Co. v. Shepherd, 240 U. S. 240; Missouri Pacific Ry. Co. v. Taber, 244 U. S. 200. The writ of error is Dismissed.…
  • Bilby v. Stewart, 246 U.S. 255 (U.S. 1918)
    …dequate to support it, the existence of a federal question is of no significance. Cuyahoga River Power Co. v. Northern Realty Co., 244 U. S. 300. And, besides, the attempt to raise it comes too late. St. Louis & San Franciso R. R. Co. v. Shepherd, 240 U. S. 240. The writ of error is Dismissed.…

Previewing 3 of 23 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw