Pacific Coast Fruit Distributors, Inc., a Corporation v. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, a Corporation

The question presented is whether the appellee railroad is entitled to collect freight transportation charges from one, who, as selling agent of a shipper and not a party to the original shipping document (i. e., bill-of-lading), is substituted as consignee and assumes control of a shipment by reconsigning it to other consignees and destinations.

The Court below said: Yes. We agree. The agreed statement of facts shows that R. T. Fleischer & Company of Mexico delivered certain shipments of tomatoes to Southern Pacific Railroad Company of Mexico consigned to itself at Tucson, Arizona. Standard form Mexican bills-of-lading were executed. Ap-pellee was a United States connecting carrier.

Appellant was a selling agent of Fleischer in the United States. After delivery of the tomatoes to Southern Pacific Railroad Company of Mexico, Fleischer diverted all the shipments to appellant as consignee. Appellant thereafter made successive diversions of the shipments to various designated consignees, in Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago and Philadelphia. At final destination in New York, the tomatoes, being in poor condition, were abandoned to the U. S. Customs authorities for destruction, thus…