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Charles v. Barrett

Court of Appeals of the State of New York
Mar 7, 1922
233 N.Y. 127 (N.Y. 1922)

Summary

In Charles v. Barrett, 233 N.Y. 127, 135 N.E. 199, 200, Chief Judge Cardozo stated the general principle in these words: "The rule now is that, as long as the employee is furthering the business of his general employer by the service rendered to another, there will be no inference of a new relation unless command has been surrendered, and no inference of its surrender from the mere fact of its division."

Summary of this case from Aluminum Company of America v. Ward

Opinion

Argued January 26, 1922

Decided March 7, 1922

Thomas J. O'Neill and Leonard F. Fish for appellant.

Alfred W. Meldon and Joseph Force Crater for respondent.


One Steinhauser was in the trucking business. He supplied the Adams Express Company, the defendant, with a motor van and a chauffeur at the rate of $2 an hour. The defendant did the work of loading at its station and unloading at the railroad terminal. It sealed the van at the point of departure and unsealed at the point of destination. Between departure and destination, the truck remained without interference or supervision in charge of the chauffeur. While so engaged, it struck and killed the plaintiff's son. Negligence is not disputed. The question is whether the defendant shall answer for the wrong. The trial judge ruled as a matter of law that it must; the Appellate Division, holding the contrary, dismissed the complaint.

We think that truck and driver were in the service of the general employer. There was no such change of masters as would relieve Steinhauser of liability if the driver of the van had broken the seals, and stolen the contents. By the same token, there was no such change as to relieve of liability for other torts committed in the conduct of the enterprise. Where to go and when might be determined for the driver by the commands of the defendant. The duty of going carefully, for the safety of the van as well as for that of wayfarers, remained a duty to the master at whose hands he had received possession. Neither the contract nor its performance shows a change of control so radical as to disturb that duty or its incidence. The plaintiff refers to precedents which may not unreasonably be interpreted as pointing in a different direction. Minute analysis will show that distinguishing features are not lacking. Thus, in Hartell v. Simonson Son Co. ( 218 N.Y. 345) the special employer used his own truck. The submission to a new "sovereign" was more intimate and general ( Driscoll v. Towle, 181 Mass. 416, 418). We do not say that in every case the line of division has been accurately drawn. The principle declared by the decisions remains unquestioned. At most the application is corrected. The rule now is that as long as the employee is furthering the business of his general employer by the service rendered to another, there will be no inference of a new relation unless command has been surrendered, and no inference of its surrender from the mere fact of its division ( McNamara v. Leipzig, 227 N.Y. 291; Matter of Schweitzer v. Thompson Norris Co., 229 N.Y. 97; Meade v. Motor Haulage Co., Inc., 233 N.Y. ___; Driscoll v. Towle, supra).

The judgment should be affirmed with costs.

HISCOCK, Ch. J., POUND, McLAUGHLIN, CRANE and ANDREWS, JJ., concur; HOGAN, J., not voting.

Judgment affirmed.


Summaries of

Charles v. Barrett

Court of Appeals of the State of New York
Mar 7, 1922
233 N.Y. 127 (N.Y. 1922)

In Charles v. Barrett, 233 N.Y. 127, 135 N.E. 199, 200, Chief Judge Cardozo stated the general principle in these words: "The rule now is that, as long as the employee is furthering the business of his general employer by the service rendered to another, there will be no inference of a new relation unless command has been surrendered, and no inference of its surrender from the mere fact of its division."

Summary of this case from Aluminum Company of America v. Ward

In Charles v. Barrett, 233 N.Y. 127, 135 N.E. 199, 200, decided by the Court of Appeals of New York, with Justice Cardozo as its organ, the rule here under consideration was stated as follows: "* * * The rule now is that, as long as the employee is furthering the business of his general employer by the service rendered to another, there will be no inference of a new relation unless command has been surrendered, and no inference of its surrender from the mere fact of its division.

Summary of this case from Benoit v. Hunt Tool Co.

In Charles v. Barrett (supra) the owner of automobile trucks supplied the defendant with a van, and a chauffeur to run it, at a stated hourly rate.

Summary of this case from Bartolomeo v. Bennett Contracting Co.

In Charles v. Barrett (233 N.Y. 127), Judge CARDOZO, writing for the court, said: "The rule now is that as long as the employee is furthering the business of his general employer by the service rendered to another, there will be no inference of a new relation unless command has been surrendered, and no inference of its surrender from the mere fact of its division [ McNamara v. Leipzig, 227 N.Y. 291; Matter of Schweitzer v. Thompson Norris Co., 229 N.Y. 97; Meade v. Motor Haulage Co., Inc., 233 N.Y. 527; Driscoll v. Towle, 181 Mass. 416, 418]."

Summary of this case from Hanrahan v. New York Edison Co.

In Charles v. Barrett (233 N.Y. 127) the rule relating to ad hoc employment is restated: "The rule now is that as long as the employee is furthering the business of his general employer by the service rendered to another, there will be no inference of a new relation unless command has been surrendered, and no inference of its surrender from the mere fact of its division."

Summary of this case from Bush v. Sinclair-Rooney Co.
Case details for

Charles v. Barrett

Case Details

Full title:FRANK P. CHARLES, as Administrator of the Estate of BERNARD CHARLES…

Court:Court of Appeals of the State of New York

Date published: Mar 7, 1922

Citations

233 N.Y. 127 (N.Y. 1922)
135 N.E. 199

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