Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway v. Slade

Background

A shipment of live animals was sent from Kentucky to Cordele, Georgia under a written shipping contract with a railroad. A dispute over that contract led the plaintiff to attach a box car as security for the claim. The railroad produced the written contract, which limited its liability, and the plaintiff relied in part on a Kentucky constitutional provision saying carriers cannot contract away common-law liability. The railroad posted a replevy bond to regain the car, then filed a demurrer and an answer without expressly reserving any objection to the court’s power.

Reasoning

The core questions raised were whether the attachment and sheriff’s levy interfered with federal interstate-commerce law and whether the shipping contract should be governed by federal commerce rules rather than state law. The Georgia Court of Appeals, however, decided the case on state procedural grounds: that posting the replevy bond and then filing pleadings amounted to a general appearance and waived objections to jurisdiction. Because the state court resolved the dispute on that independent state-law basis and the federal issues were not raised or decided below, the Supreme Court found no federal question for review and dismissed the writ for lack of jurisdiction.

Real world impact

The Supreme Court’s dismissal leaves the Georgia judgment in place, which treated the contract under Kentucky law and held some liability-limiting terms void while not excusing the railroad entirely. The decision is procedural: it prevents Supreme Court review when adequate state-law grounds decide the case. Parties seeking federal review must present federal claims clearly in the state courts below.