## Facts

- Cole traveled as a paying passenger on a stagecoach line operated by Goodwin & Story.
- Cole delivered a trunk to the coachman as passenger baggage in connection with his transportation.
- The trunk was lost while in the carrier’s custody.
- About 11 months later, the trunk was returned to Cole with money and other valuable contents missing.
- Cole sued Goodwin & Story as common carriers for the loss to his baggage.
- At trial, the jury found for Cole and awarded $101.96.
- Goodwin & Story challenged liability for money in baggage and asserted they had limited or excluded liability by posted or general notice.

## Issues

1. Whether stagecoach proprietors carrying passengers and their baggage for hire are common carriers as to baggage and strictly liable for its loss, including money customarily carried in baggage.
2. Whether a carrier may reduce or avoid common-carrier liability through a general notice, without the passenger’s express assent through a special contract.

## Decision

- The court sustained the verdict for Cole and affirmed liability against Goodwin & Story.
- Stagecoach proprietors were treated as common carriers with respect to passenger baggage committed to their custody.
- The strict common-law carrier rule applied to loss of baggage, including money and valuables that ordinarily accompany a traveler, absent fraud or concealment by the passenger.
- A general notice purporting to limit or exclude liability was ineffective absent a special, explicit contract showing the passenger’s assent.

## Legal Principles

- A carrier holding itself out to the public to transport passengers and their baggage for hire is a common carrier as to baggage delivered into its custody.
- Common carriers are liable for loss or damage to goods in their possession unless the loss falls within recognized exceptions (e.g., act of God, public enemy, fault of the owner, inherent defect, or fraud).
- Passenger baggage may include a reasonable amount of money and personal valuables consistent with ordinary travel, without a requirement of itemized disclosure absent special circumstances.
- A carrier cannot unilaterally alter its common-law obligations by general notice; any effective limitation requires a special contract manifested by clear assent, and cannot rest on mere exposure to posted conditions.

## Conclusion

The court held that stagecoach proprietors were strictly liable as common carriers for loss to passenger baggage, including ordinary money kept in a trunk, and that unilateral, general notices could not limit that liability without an explicit special contract accepted by the passenger.


Cole v. Goodwin & Story, 19 Wend. 251 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1838)