Carl G. Zimmerman v. Allied Van Lines, Inc., a Corporation

Appellant, plaintiff below, appeals from a judgment awarding him damages against appellee in the sum of $11,611.-90 for loss of and damage to household goods transported by appellee from New Jersey to Arizona.

Jurisdiction of the District Court is founded upon the diverse citizenship of the parties, and the amount in controversy exceeds $10,000.00, 28 U.S.C. § 1332 . This court has jurisdiction of the appeal under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291-1294 .

The cause was submitted to the District Court upon a written stipulation of facts under which liability of appellee is admitted.

The basic question on this appeal is whether appellant, as a matter of law, is entitled to judgment in the amount of $20,000.00 instead of the amount awarded by the District Court.

The salient facts contained in the stipulation may be summarized as follows: In October of 1960, at Westfield, New Jersey, appellant delivered certain household articles to appellee for shipment to Scottsdale, Arizona. Appellee undertook the transportation of the articles as a motor carrier and while enroute, the vehicle in which the household articles were carried caught fire. As a result, all articles in the shipment were either…