Lomax Transportation Co. v. United States

Appellant, defendant below, on October 2, 1944, contracted to store certain United States naval supplies in its warehouse in Spokane, Washington. The agreement de-. fining the rights and obligations of the parties consisted of a printed form contract of a type ordinarily used for procurement of supplies rather than for storage, in which were inserted special typewritten provisions, one of which read: “Contractor assumes absolute responsibility for property in his possession and shall maintain Bond and Insurance at his own expense in accordance with the State of Washington Warehousing Laws.”

Though it is difficult to cull the exact facts from the record before us, we understand that the government, pursuant to the contract, delivered certain naval stores to appellant’s warehouse, receiving therefor warehouse receipts which, in substance, purported to absolve appellant from loss of or damage to the goods through fire or other causes beyond its control.

On December 26, 1944, a fire in the warehouse resulted in the destruction of or damage to certain of the supplies then stored there. A Naval Board of Inquiry, convened shortly after the fire, found no evidence of negligence on…