Garrette

The defendant, Grangers Business Association, a corporation, was the owner of and operated a warehouse on the shores of the Carquinez Straits, at Port Costa, California. On September 15, 1919, plaintiffs deposited in said warehouse for indefinite storage a quantity of wheat. During the evening of that day a section of the wharf or dock upon which the warehouse was built collapsed, precipitating part of plaintiffs’ wheat into the water. Plaintiffs have sued defendant on its contract as a public warehouseman for the value of the lost wheat. The action was tried by the court sitting with a jury, the issue of fact being whether or not defendant was negligent as a warehouseman, in the care of said wheat. The verdict was for the defendant, and from the judgment entered on said verdict plaintiffs have appealed.

Two grounds are urged for a reversal of the judgment, namely, insufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict and erroneous instructions given to the jury on the question of burden of proof.

The wharf or dock upon which said warehouse rested was constructed of wooden piling and, from what may be gleaned from the testimony in the record, extended for a distance of 1,000 feet…