Thomas N. McClellan

The case involved a ferry operator's liability after the plaintiff's wagon and team backed off the boat into the river during a crossing. The court held that the ferry owners were not liable as common carriers because the plaintiff retained control of his team, and their duty was limited to ordinary negligence or, if the transport was gratuitous, gross negligence. It reversed the judgment due to an erroneous jury instruction that required a verdict for the plaintiff upon a finding of the defendants' negligence, without allowing consideration of the plaintiff's own contributory negligence in failing to unhitch the team as requested. The opinion also addressed the admissibility of evidence regarding subsequent installation of a guard rail and the distinction between paid and gratuitous ferriage in determining the standard of care.

torts & liabilityprocedure

This case involved a dispute over the conversion of cotton subject to a mortgage originally held by the partnership of Collins & Ham, after Collins assigned his interest and the cotton was sold to Keith & Son despite a superior landlord's lien. The court decided that the plaintiffs, as joint owners of the mortgage through the assignment, properly brought the action and that the mortgage was valid even though the rented land was not precisely identified at execution. It further held that the defendants were not entitled to a reduction in damages for a subsequent payment made by the mortgagor to the landlord. The core reasoning was that the conversion was fully completed before any such payment, which was made by a third party rather than the defendants, and Alabama precedent does not permit subrogation or mitigation of damages for the purchaser under these circumstances.

propertytorts & liability