New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Co. v. Nothnagle et al. (346 U.S. 128)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 8, 1953 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 346 U.S. 128 · 73 S. Ct. 986
- Decided
- June 8, 1953
- Term
- October Term 1952
- Vote
- 8–0
- Majority author
- Justice Clark
- Issue area
- Federalism
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Mu. Justice Clark delivered the opinion of the Court. This case concerns the extent of an interstate carrier’s liability for a passenger’s baggage loss. On October 5, 1949, Mrs. Nothnagle, respondent here, purchased a railway ticket from petitioner in Meriden, Connecticut, for a journey to Fall River, Massachusetts, via New Haven, Connecticut. She boarded a train in Meriden at 11:19 a. m. and arrived shortly after 11:30 a. m. in New Haven where she alighted for transfer to another train. On the station platform her suitcase was solicited by a redcap employee of petitioner, and she handed it to him with orders to return it at the Fall River train departing at 12:40 p. m. No baggage check was given; no money was paid. The suitcase vanished, and respondent sued. At trial in the Meriden City Court the parties stipulated that the baggage and contents actually worth $615 were lost due to petitioner’s negligence. Petitioner insisted, however, that its liability as an interstate carrier was governed by a tariff schedule filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission which limited a recovery for baggage loss to $25 unless the passenger had in writing declared a higher valuation. The state courts granted full recovery to respondent. The trial court found that although respondent had not declared a greater value, she had neither actual knowledge of petitioner’s asserted restriction nor…
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