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1 Denio 45

Fisk v. Newton

Court for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors

Decided May 15, 1845

Court for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors · decided 1845-05-15

The casks were marked with the name of the plaintiff, and the additional words, “ care of H. S. Field, New-York,” and arrived at that city November 21, 1842. The defendant’s agent in New-York swore, that on the arrival of the butter, he made diligent inquiry for H. S. Field, but could not find any such person. His name was not in the city directory, and he could not hear of him upon inquiry at the stores of several individuals of the name of Field, at which he called.

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““Where goods are safely conveyed to the place of destination, and the consignee is dead, absent, or refuses to receive, or is not known, and cannot, after due efforts are made, be found, the carrier may discharge himself from further responsibility by placing the goods in store with some responsible third person in that business at the place of delivery, for and on account of the owner. When so delivered the store-house keeper becomes the bailee and agent of the owner in respect to such goods.””

quoted by 1 later decision, including The Mill Boy

Relies on Gibson v. Culver

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1845-05-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 7 later decisions (3 by the Supreme Court) — most recently December 1887

1 district ·

2018451850186018701880decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

By the Court, Jewett, J.

¶1It is well settled that, prima facie, a common carrier is bound not only safely to convey, but safely to deliver a parcel which he has undertaken to carry, at the place to which it is directed, to the consignee personally. (Gibson v. Culver, 17 Wend. 305, and the cases there cited.) Personal delivery, however, is sometimes dispensed with, in the case of carriers by ships and boats. Notice given to the consignee of the arrival and place of deposit, comes in lieu of personal delivery. (2 Kent’s Comm. 605, 3d ed.) So when goods are safely conveyed- to the place of destination, and the consignee is dead, absent, or refuses to receive, or is not known and cannot after due efforts are made be found, the carrier may discharge himself from further responsibility, by placing the goods in store with some responsible third person in that business, at the place of delivery, for'-and on account of the owner.

¶2*48When so delivered, the storehouse keeper becomes the bailee and agent of the owner in respect to such goods. In this case, the wharf was the place of delivery, and H. S. Field, the person to whom, from the directions of the plaintiff, the goods were to be delivered. Field was unknown to the carrier. He did not call at the place of delivery for the goods. The consignor had omitted to inform the defendant of the particular residence of Field, or of his occupation or place of business. He was a mere clerk, having no place. of business, ■ his name not in the city directory, and was not discovered by the carrier although reasonable efforts were made to find him. The consignor had ■ misinformed Field as to the line by which the goods had been sent, and the person to whose care they were directed to be delivered ; by reason of which Field did not receive'the goods. The defendant put the goods in store with a responsible third person, for and on account of the owner, according to the usage of the trade at that place under such circumstances. Then the goods are lost, through the insolvency of the storehouse keeper, occurring several months after the delivery. I think the risk of the carrier, from the facts in the case, ceased on the delivery of the goods in store, and that the plaintiff failed in his action.

¶3The judgment of the superior court must therefore be affirmed.

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