Farmers' Packing Co. v. Alexander Brown & Sons

Briscoe, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This is an action of replevin brought by the appellants, the Farmers’ Packing Company of Talbot County, against the appellees, Alexander Brown and Sons, to recover five thousand cases of canned corn, alleged to be the property of the appellants. The defendants pleaded property in themselves and property in the Baltimore Warehouse Company. To these pleas a replication was filed and upon issue joined the case was tried, which resulted in a verdict for the defendants.

At the trial there were eight exceptions reserved, and these form the basis of this appeal. We will pass upon them in their regular order, in so far as it may be necessaiy to the determination of this case. ¹⁰ The plaintiff is a corporation, engaged among other things, at Easton, Talbot County, in canning and packing corn. The defendants are general agents and engaged in the warehouse business at Brown’s wharf, Baltimore. It appears from the record that the appellant during the month of September, 1894, shipped by steamboat to Baltimore five thousand cases of canned corn.

When this corn reached Baltimore, Percival LeRoy & Co., who were dealers in canned goods and supplies, were notified by a shipping ticket from the Steamboat Company of its arrival. This ticket showed upon its face that LeRoy & Co. were the consignees of the corn. It was then taken to Brown’s warehouse for storage, and upon the faith of the tickets issued by the carrier, the Steamboat Company, the receipts of the Warehouse Company were issued in the name of Percival LeRoy & Co. And on the 29th of September, 1894, LeRoy & Co., the consignees, obtained from the Baltimore Warehouse Company a loan of $5,000 upon these warehouse receipts which had been previously issued in their name, and which were in their possession. The property now in dispute was replevied by the appellants on the 31st of October, 1894, and the judgment below being for the defendants, the plaintiff has appealed.

Now it is clear that since the Act of 1876, chapter 262 (Code, Art. 14, sec. 1), all warehouse, elevator or storage receipts whatsoever for goods, chattels or commodities of any kind stored or deposited in any warehouse are declared to be negotiable instruments and securities, unless it be provided in express terms to the contrary on the face thereof, in the same sense as bills of exchange and promissory notes, and full and complete title to the property mentioned therein shall vest in each and every bona fide holder thereof for value, altogether unaffected by any rights or equities whatsoever between the original or any other prior holders of w'hich such bona fide holder for value shall not have had actual notice at the time he became such. And by section 3 of Art. 2, it is provided that any person intrusted with ¹¹ and in possession of any bill of lading, storekeeper’s or inspector’s certificate, order for the delivery of goods, or other document showing possession, shall be deemed the true owner of the goods, wares or .merchandise described therein, so far as to give validity to any contract thereafter to be made by such person, with any other person or body corporate for the sale or disposal of the said goods, or for the pledge or deposit thereof as a security for any money or negotiable instrument advanced or given on the faith of such documents, provided that such person or body corporate shall not have notice by such document or otherwise, that the person so intrusted is not the actual and bona fide owner of such goods, wares and merchandise. These statutes have been recently before this Court and received its construction. Tiedeman v. Knox, 53 Md. 620 ; Ruhl v. Corner, 63 Md. 182 ; Seal v. Zell, 63 Md. 356 .

Looking then to the law as settled by the decisions of this Court, and as applicable to the facts and circumstances of this case, we are of opinion that it was correctly stated in the defendant’s instruction, which was granted by the Court. “ The defendants pray the Court to instruct the jury that if they find from the evidence that the Farmers’ Packing Company, the plaintiff, during the month of September, 1894, shipped from Easton,-consigned to Percival LeRoy and Company, in Baltimore, the 5,000 cases of canned corn which were afterwards replevied in this suit. And if the jury find that the said goods were shipped in various lots, and received from the 15 th to the 28th of September, inclusive, and that said goods reached Baltimore by water, and that on the arrival of each shipment at the wharf of the respective steamers transporting the same, the said respective shipments were by direction of Percival LeRoy and Company, the consignees, transported for delivery to