Humboldt M. Co. v. N.W. Pac. Ry. Co.

The plaintiff brings this action to recover damages for the alleged breach of a written agreement entered into between W. J. Swortzel and R. R. Smith, copartners under the firm name of Swortzel & Smith, of the one part, and Eel' River & Eureka Railroad Company, a corporation, of the other part. The plaintiff claims as assignee of the rights of Swortzel & Smith under said agreement, and seeks to hold the defendant as successor in interest to the said Eel River & Eureka Railroad Company.

. The agreement in question was executed on March 27, 1901. Prior to that time, as the complaint avers, Swortzel & Smith were the owners of the shingle and shake bolt timber upon a tract of land in Humboldt County known as the Swett claim. They also owned a shingle mill at Fortuna, in said county. The Bel River & Eureka Railroad Company operated a railroad as a common carrier between Eureka and Burnell’s station in said Humboldt County. Its railroad line passed near the location of Swortzel & Smith’s mill, but did not extend to within a mile or thereabouts from the Swett claim. The agreement here involved was made for the purpose of enabling Swortzel & Smith to move shingle bolts from their said…