Court Opinion

ID: 9833632
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 22:54:31.546717+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:44:04.745832
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
In our original opinion we held that, as ap-pellee, by its contract voluntarily entered into with appellant, bound itself to ’return the property leased and received by it to appellant in as good condition as when received, “fair wear and tear excepted,” without other or further exceptions or reservations, it is bound to make such return or pay the owner of the property its value, and will not, on account of hardships or impossibility of performance of its contract, by reason of the destruction of the property by a flood over which it had no control, be relieved from liability to appellant for its failure to return the property. So holding, we reversed the judgment rendered in favor of appellee by the trial court and rendered judgment-for appellant.
We made this holding under the impression that the general rule that, if a party to a voluntary contract makes no exemption from liability ’ for failure to fully perform his undertaking, evidenced by the contract, the law will not interpolate what the parties themselves have not stipulated, and thereby relieve them from .liability for. nonperformance, and that the law will not interpose to relieve the parties from liability for nonperformance, by reason of the intervention of some unforeseen occurrence over which they had no control; except when the law compels the.making of the contract, or when the law intervenes to prevent performance, was applicable to this case. The authorities cited in the original opinion sustain the rule above stated, and the case of Direct Navigation Co. v. Davidson, 32 Tex. Civ. App. 492, 74 S. W. 790, supports the original opinion. . But, since our original opinion has been filed appellee has filed its motion for rehearing, and therein contends that the decision in the case mentioned is in conflict with the weight of authority in this state on the subject under discussion as well as of other states.. -116 also contends that the general rule announced by us in the original opinion is not applicable to the contract and questions involved in this case, and that we erred in • holding that such did apply thereto.
Appellee does not dispute the general proposition of contract law as announced in our original opinion, but it does contend that under the contract in this case appellee was a bailee, and that the' stipulation in the contract that appellee.was to’return the property in as good .condition as when received, “fair wear and tear excepted,” did not enlarge the common-'law liability of appellee, the bailee,' and that, unless the common-law liability under a contract of bailment is enlarged, or the intention to so enlarge it appears by specific language, the liabilty of the *208bailee is to b'a determined and measured by Ms common-law liability.
After a careful review of the authorities cited in the motion, we feel constrained to sustain such contention. Sanchez v. Blumberg, 176 S. W. 904; Sturm v. Boker, 150 U. S. 312, 14 Sup. Ct. 99, 37 L. Ed. 1093; Seever v. Gabel, 94 Iowa, 75, 62 N. W. 669, 27 L. R. A. 733, 58 Am. St. Rep. 381; Field v. Brackett, 50 Me. 121; McEvers v. The Sangamon, 22 Mo. 187; Jaminet v. American Storage Co., 109 Mo. App. 257, 84 S. W. 128; Ry. Co. v. Ry. Co., 26 Minn. 243, 2 N. W. 700, 37 Am. Rep. 404; Ames v. Belden, 17 Barb. (N. Y.) 517; Hyland v. Paul, 33 Barb. (N. Y.) 241; Young v. Leary, 135 N. Y. 569, 32 N. E. 607; Whitehead v. Vanderbilt, 10 Daly (N. Y.) 214; American Preserves Co. v. Dreschner, 4 Misc. Rep. 482, 24 N. Y. Supp. 361.
It follows from what has been said that we have reached the conclusion that we erred in our original opinion in reversing the judgment of the trial court and rendering judgment for appellant. We therefore sustain the motion and set aside so much of the original opinion as reverses the judgment of the trial court and renders judgment for appellant, and we now affirm the'judgment of the trial court.