Court Opinion

ID: 9829050
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 18:57:07.811514+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:42:56.789003
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
Consideration of appellant’s motion for rehearing has satisfied us that we erred in affirming the judgment of the trial court awarding appellee damages for the shipment of rice over the Texas & New Orleans Raiíway Company from Mont Belview to Houston, for which appellee by trial amendment claimed, and by the judgment was awarded damages in the sum of $1,699.78.
The ground upon which appellee sought, and obtained judgment for damages to this car of rice was the negligence of the Texas & New Orleans Railway Company in- furnishing a defective and leaky car for the shipment of the rice. A re-examination of the record discloses -that the car in which this rice was shipped was not furnished by the Texas & New Orleans Railway Company, but. the carload of rice was received by that company at Mont Belview from the Dayton & Goose Creek Railroad Company, a connecting carrier, which is not shown to have been under the federal Railroad Administration. The undisputed evidence in the record further shows that there were no apparent or visible defects in the car, and the leaks therein, if any, could only have been discovered by an inspection from the inside. The car was sealed and the Texas & New Orleans-Railway Company was not required nor authorized to break the seal for the purpose of inspecting' the car from the inside; ■ there-being nothing in its outside appearance to-indicate its defective condition.
Appellant’s motion for rehearing will be granted to the extent of denying appellee any recovery for damages to this carload of rice, and the judgment of the trial court reformed, by deducting therefrom the sum of $1,699.78. In all other respects the motion for rehearing, is overruled.
Appellee has filed a motion requesting, that the judgment be reformed so as to show that it is a judgment against appellant as-federal agent for the Galveston, Harrisburg. & San Antonio Railway Company. Such reformation of the judgment will make it conform to the pleadings as a whole as construed, in our original opinion, and appellee’s motion is therefore granted.