freight
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 70 U.S. 37 - The Kimball · 1865Most cited · 106 citing opinions
Freight being the compensation for the carriage of goods, if paid in advance, is in all cases, unless there is a special agreement to the contrary, to be refunded, if from any cause not attributable to the shipper the goods be not carried.
How the Supreme Court has restated “freight”
Each Supreme Court definition of “freight,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “freight”
Court decisions citing the 5 opinions that defined “freight” — 166 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 5 definitions, chronological · 1781–1865
- ORIGINAL
The freight is not directed to be paid to Brantlight & Son; the freight is to be paid to the captain; he is responsible for the wages of his crew, and other debts, contracted on account of the ship. Freight is answerable for all such claims, and the captain is entitled to receive it, to indemnify himself: He may, therefore, refuse to deliver the cargo, till the freight is paid.
captain's lien for
Freight, in general, is not due unless the voyage be performed. Here the ship and cargo never arrived at their port of destination, and of course the whole freight could not be due. Was a pro rata freight due? We think not. The whole class of cases resting on the authority of Luke v. Lyde proceed on the ground that there is a voluntary acceptance of the goods themselves at an intermediate port; and not, as in the present case, a compulsive receipt from the hands of the admiralty after capture and condemnation, and ultimate restoration upon the appeal.
pro rata, requires voluntary acceptance
There is no lien on one cargo for freight which may accrue on another. The Court can perceive no principle on which a cargo to be delivered freight free can be burthened with the freight agreed to be paid on a cargo to be afterwards taken on board.
no lien across distinct outward and inward voyages
The word freight, when not used in a sense to imply the burden or loading of the ship, or the cargo which she has on board, is the hire agreed upon between the owner or master for the carriage of goods from one port or place to another. That hire, without a different stipulation by the parties, is only payable when the merchandise is in readiness to be delivered to the person having the right to receive it.