William Howard Taft

“ In some of the cases in which the statutes are sustained there is a fixed penalty or a limited attorney's fee. In others, the attorney's fee is merely required to be reasonable and fixed by the court. In some, there is a limit in the amount of the claims to which the statute applies, and in others not. In some statutes held valid, the penalty or fee is allowed only on condition that the full amount claimed be recovered ”

“ It was held that the attorney's fee here was manifestly only costs of suit, and that, as the statute applied to every one and any person might be plaintiff or defendant, the mere distinction between the costs to be taxed against the plaintiff and those against the defendant did not deny the equal protection of the laws because the plaintiff usually had the burden in the case and as the outlay for an attorney's fee was a necessary consequence of the litigation, it was reasonable to impose it upon the party whose refusal to pay the just claim rendered the litigation necessary. ”

“ Coming now to the case before us, we find that the statute affects all common carriers, that it imposes on them the duty of considering and settling claims for loss of and damage to freight within 60 days, and provides that if they do not so settle them and in a subsequent suit more is recovered than the amount tendered, the amount found due shall carry 7 per cent. interest from the presentation of the claim as a penalty and reasonable attorney's fees. It an appeal be taken and the plaintiff succeed, an additional attorney's fee may be included. The statute is confined to freight claims. ”

“ In this case, the constitutional validity of two statutes of Nebraska is questioned; the first subjecting the initial railroad of two connecting roads, receiving freight, to liability for safe delivery by the other, and the second making every common carrier liable for a reasonable attorney's fee in the court of first instance and on appeal, for collection from it of every claim for damage or loss to property shipped, not adjusted within 60 days for intrastate shipments. ”

“ The Nye-Schneider-Fowler Company, defendant in error, is a corporation of Nebraska at Fremont, Nebraska, engaged in the business of bringing hogs in the state and shipping them to South Omaha for sale in the stockyards there. It brought this suit against the plaintiff in error, a common carrier, to recover damages in the sum of $2,097.21 and $900 attorney's fees, for loss or injury to hogs shipped in 105 intrastate shipments, averring due presentation of such claims and the refusal of the company to pay any amount whatever on them. ”

“ The general rule to be gathered from this extended review of the cases is that common carriers engaged in the public business of transportation may be grouped in a special class to secure the proper discharge of their functions, and to meet their liability for injuries inflicted upon the property of members of the public in their performance ”

“ Ct. 493, 56 L. Ed. 799, 42 L. R. A. (N. S.) 102, a state statute required railroad companies to pay claims for live stock killed or injured by their trains within 30 days after notice with a penalty for failure to do so, of double damages and attorney's fee if claimant recovered what he sued for. The plaintiff had made a claim for $500 for the killing of two horses by the defendant's train. On refusal, suit was brought for $400 and recovery had for that amount. ”