Source: http://masscases.com/cases/sjc/299/299mass230.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 05:00:58+00:00

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STELLA D. BRADBURY vs. CENTRAL VERMONT RAILWAY, INC.
This court, acting under G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 233, § 70, adjudged that, by the law of Vermont, a railroad corporation was liable in tort for damages caused by innocent reliance upon a representation, made by its agents in that State in response to a request by a shipper for complete information as to whether he could ship Christmas trees into Canada, that such shipment could be made upon payment of a small importation fee, where it appeared that the representation was false because such importation was prohibited by a Canadian regulation unknown to the agents.
CONTRACT OR TORT. Writ in the Superior Court dated February 7, 1933.
A verdict for the plaintiff in the sum of $900 was recorded with leave reserved; and thereafter Cox, J., denied a motion that a verdict be entered for the defendant and reported the case.
J. T. Phelps, (G. W. Howe with him,) for the defendant.
J. C. Donohoe, for the plaintiff.
well knowing that the plaintiff was relying upon such information, that such shipment might be made, and thereupon the plaintiff, relying upon the representations of said defendant" and its agents, shipped a quantity of Christmas greens and greenery on a freight car furnished by the defendant, prepaying the freight, to said Windsor; that the consignee was prohibited from receiving such carload under a quarantine law in effect March 18, 1925; all to the great damage of the plaintiff. This described an action of tort founded on false representations by the agent of the defendant that the plaintiff could send Christmas trees into Canada. In substance and effect this is an allegation that the defendant knew, or should have known if care had been exercised, that the law of Canada was not as represented. In other words, it contains an allegation that the defendant negligently misrepresented to the plaintiff that she could ship Christmas trees into Canada.
Act, or of Regulation No. 5 thereunder, which constituted the prohibition of the importation of Christmas trees.
The trial judge ruled that the rights of the parties must be determined in accordance with the law of Vermont, where the cause of action arose. The jury were instructed to determine whether the conduct of Grace, the agent of the defendant, was negligent, and, if they found that it was, they were to return a verdict for the plaintiff. It was agreed by counsel that in the event of a verdict for the plaintiff the damages were to be assessed in the sum of $900. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff in that sum. A motion for a directed verdict in favor of the defendant was denied. Leave was reserved to enter a verdict for the defendant under G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 231, § 120, but motion by the defendant for the entry of such verdict was denied by the trial judge, who reported the case for determination by this court.
The cause of action upon which the plaintiff relies was the statement by the agent of the defendant to the plaintiff that Christmas trees could be shipped into Canada from Vermont. That was a statement of fact because it related to the law of a foreign state or nation. Electric Welding Co. v. Prince, 200 Mass. 386, 390. Seemann v. Eneix, 272 Mass. 189, 194. That statement was false. That misinformation was given in Vermont. Whether it gave rise to a cause of action must be determined in accordance with the law of Vermont. Levy v. Steiger, 233 Mass. 600. Gannett v. Boston & Maine Railroad, 238 Mass. 125. Hall v. Hamel, 244 Mass. 464. Walker v. Lloyd, 295 Mass. 507, 510. Am. Law Inst. Restatement: Conflict of Laws, § 377, paragraph 4. The ruling of the trial judge in this respect was correct.
It is provided by G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 233, § 70: "The courts shall take judicial notice of the law of the United States or of any state, territory or dependency thereof or of a foreign country whenever the same shall be material." In the absence of proof to the contrary, the common law of Vermont is presumed to be the same as the common law of this Commonwealth. Woodard v. Woodard, 216 Mass. 1, 2.
Newman v. Kendall, 103 Vt. 421, 424, 425. See also McAllister v. Benjamin, 96 Vt. 475, 486. It is said, also, in Niles v. Danforth, 97 Vt. 88, 93, 94, that scienter and intent to deceive" both may be implied where, as here, one makes a statement as of his own knowledge, when, in fact, he knows nothing about it." It could have been found that the agent of the defendant at Richmond made the statement to the plaintiff that Christmas trees could be sent into Canada by her as of his own knowledge or as of the knowledge of the defendant's agent at St. Albans. He had been asked by the plaintiff whether such trees could be shipped into Canada. He knew that the plaintiff would rely upon the truth of his reply. His words to the effect that such trees could be shipped into Canada, prefaced by the remark that he had heard from St. Albans, could have been found to have been uttered under circumstances calculated to lead the plaintiff to believe that the defendant had knowledge of the Canadian law and that he was making the statement on the basis of that knowledge. He did not possess that knowledge. A case for the jury was made out under the law of Vermont as declared in the decisions of that State already cited. See also Litchfield v. Hutchinson, 117 Mass. 195, 197, 198; Chatham Furnace Co. v. Moffatt, 147 Mass. 403; Huntress v. Blodgett, 206 Mass. 318. Bates v. Cashman, 230 Mass. 167.
The result is that there was no error of law in the conduct of the trial. Verdict for plaintiff to stand.

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 § 377
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