Continental Grain Co. v. Farmers Gin & Storage Co.

Citations: 167 Ga. App. 170; 305 S.E.2d 783; 1983 Ga. App. LEXIS 2429Docket: 65694

Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia; May 13, 1983; Georgia; State Appellate Court

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The case centers on the fate of Southern Railway Company’s hopper car, SOU 8302, between November 9 and December 4, 1979. Farmers Gin, Storage Company, Inc. loaded SOU 8302 with soybeans, along with two other cars (SOU 7932 and SOU 7944), at its Wadley, Georgia facility and shipped them to Continental Grain Company via Southern Railway and Savannah State Docks Railroad for export. The cars were sealed and accompanied by a bill of lading, indicating they were loaded and ready for shipment. Upon arrival in Savannah on November 9, they were placed on hold for Continental.

The other two hopper cars underwent inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on November 11, 1979, and were weighed and unloaded later, with their weights documented. However, there is no evidence that SOU 8302 was ever inspected, probed, or unloaded; only its arrival at the docks is confirmed. The bill of lading indicated that all three cars were not weighed at origin but had an estimated total weight of 540,000 pounds. Freight charges were based on this estimated weight, later adjusted for SOU 7932 and SOU 7944 based on their actual weights.

An invoice dated November 19, 1979, was sent to Continental for partial payment including SOU 8302, but Continental later indicated that SOU 8302 was not unloaded and would not be paid for until further investigation. Farmers Gin asserts that SOU 8302 was properly loaded, sealed, and shipped, while Continental disputes the unloading of this particular car. The facts establish that the two other cars were definitely full and unloaded, yet the status of SOU 8302 remains uncertain.

On November 26, 1979, a yard check by Savannah State Docks identified hopper car "SOU 8302" containing soybeans, placed in "Tk #8" alongside 18 other cars, while cars "SOU 7932" and "SOU 7944" were absent. A subsequent weight ticket dated December 4, 1979, indicated that "SOU 8302" weighed 54,940 pounds, with soybeans marked as "MTY" (empty). After an investigation, the buyer, Continental Grain Company, refused payment for the soybeans, leading both buyer and seller to file claims against the railroads for the lost cargo. The railroads denied liability, asserting that if the soybeans were delivered in the hopper car, the car had been delivered and unloaded by the buyer without inspection or weighing of contents. On February 20, 1981, Farmers Gin, Storage Company, Inc. sued Continental Grain, Southern Railway Company, and Georgia Ports Authority for $22,314 in damages. The jury found only against Continental Grain, which subsequently filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or a new trial. The court upheld the jury's verdict, highlighting that the shipment was considered interstate due to its export purpose. The court noted the evidence's ambiguity and the laxity in record-keeping during the shipping process. It suggested that the hopper car may not have been correctly filled or sealed, despite a bill of lading indicating it was full and sealed for shipment.

Evidence presented by both the plaintiff and defendant railroads highlighted established practices in handling soybean shipments. Witnesses could testify about habitual procedures even without specific recollection of individual transactions. Three employees from the plaintiff detailed the loading process of unweighed soybeans for weighing at the destination and communicated the readiness of the shipments to the railroad. The plaintiff’s president affirmed he typically ensured all cars subject to a bill of lading were loaded, although he lacked knowledge regarding a specific car's loading.

The defendant railroads contended they considered the hopper car to be filled upon delivery, later found empty on December 4, 1979. Testimony indicated that it was unusual for one car in a shipment not to be inspected, as two were probed upon receipt. The jury was allowed to conclude that car "8302" was delivered loaded and sealed. Despite claims from the defendant regarding its inability to move cars without assistance, evidence suggested it had the capacity to do so. The jury could deduce that the defendant received and unloaded the soybeans without proper accounting.

The trial court correctly denied the defendant Continental Grain Company's motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial, affirming the jury's findings regarding the sufficiency of the evidence. The judgment was affirmed on May 13, 1983, with a rehearing denied on June 28, 1983.