Terms & Conditions of Carriage
Terms & Conditions of Carriage
These terms and conditions apply except to the extent of a conflict with a contract
Between shipper and carrier, in which case the contract shall govern.
1. The carrier or the party in possession of any of the property described in this bill of lading shall be liable as at common law for any loss, damage or delay thereto, except as hereinafter provided. Carriers shall be liable for special, incidental and consequential damages for which they have actual or constructive notice.
2. No carrier or party in possession of all or any portion of the property described in this bill of lading shall be liable for any loss of or damage to the said property or for any delay caused solely by an Act of God, the public enemy, the authority of law, or the act or default of the shipper or owner. Further, no carrier or party in possession of all or any portion of the said property shall be liable for any natural shrinkage of the property or loss caused solely by the inherent vice of the property. The carrier or the party in possession shall have the burden of proving freedom from negligence and that one of the foregoing exceptions was the sole and proximate cause of the loss, damage or delay. The carrier's liability shall not be subject to the rule of contributory or comparative negligence.
3. The carrier shall be liable solely as a warehouseman for loss, damage or delay occurring after actual or attempted tender of the property for delivery at destination. When tender of delivery of the property to the party entitled to receive it has been made, but delivery has been refused, or if carrier is unable to make delivery, carrier's liability as a warehouseman will begin when carrier has placed said property in a warehouse or storage facility under reasonable security. Except in the case of negligence of the carrier or the party in possession, the carrier or party in possession shall not be liable for loss, damage or delay which results when the property is stopped and held in transit upon request of the shipper, owner, or party entitled to make such request.
4. Except in the case of negligence of the carrier, no carrier or party in possession of all or any of the property described in the bill of lading shall be liable for delay caused by highway obstruction, by faulty or impassable highway, or by lack of capacity of any highway, bridge or ferry. The burden to prove freedom from such negligence is on the carrier or party in possession.
5. No carrier is bound to transport said property by any particular schedule or vehicle or in time for any particular market, or in any manner other than with reasonable dispatch.
6. Claims of loss, damage or delay must be mailed within nine months of delivery, or in the case of failure to make delivery, within nine months after a reasonable time for delivery has elapsed. In no case shall said reasonable time be deemed to be less than 30 days from the scheduled or anticipated delivery date. Suits for loss damage or delay shall be instituted against any carrier no later than two years and one day from the day when written notice is received by the claimant from the carrier that the carrier has disallowed the claim or any part thereof. An offer of compromise shall not constitute a disallowance of any part of the claim unless the carrier, in writing, informs the claimant that such part of the claim is disallowed and provides reasons for such disallowance; and communication received from a carrier's insurer shall not constitute a disallowance of any part of the claim unless the insurer, in writing informs the claimant that such part of the claim is disallowed, provides a lawful reason for such disallowance and informs the claimant that the insurer is acting on behalf of the carrier. Where a lower value than the actual value of the said property has been stated in writing on the bill of lading by the shipper or has been agreed upon in writing as the released value of the property, such lower value, plus freight charges if paid, shall be the maximum recoverable amount for loss, damage, or delay, whether or not such loss, damage, or delay occurs from negligence. When such loss, damage or delay is the result of the carrier's willful misconduct, gross negligence, material or fundamental breach, or conversion, said limitation of liability shall not apply, and shipper shall be reimbursed for the actual value of the property, plus freight charges, if paid.
7. The shipper or consignee shall pay the freight and all other lawful charges accruing on said property according to the agreement of the parties. The shipper shall be liable for the freight and all other applicable charges, except that if the shipper stipulates, by signature, in the space provided for that purpose on the face of the bill of lading that the carrier shall not make delivery without requiring payment of such charges and the carrier contrary to such stipulation, makes delivery without requiring such payment, the shipper shall not be liable for such charges. The carrier may extend credit to the party responsible for payment of the freight charges. There shall be no loss of discount or penalty for late payment. Shipper may offset unpaid freight charges against unpaid freight claims when said claims are outstanding for more than 90 days. Nothing herein shall limit the right of the carrier to require at the time of shipment the prepayment or guaranty of the charges. If upon inspection it is ascertained that the articles shipped are not those described in the bill of lading the freight charges must be paid upon the articles actually shipped.
8. The parties of this bill of lading acknowledge this application and controlling status of provisions of 49 U.S.C. Section 14706 with regard to claims and actions for loss or damage to commodities transported pursuant to this Agreement, except to the extent modified by the Agreement. All claims for recovery by SHIPPER as provided herein and as to each shipment, must be filed with CARRIER within nine (9) months of the date of delivery or tender for delivery of that shipment or if not tendered or delivered must be filed with nine (9) months of the date when delivery or tender of delivery of that shipment reasonably should have been made. Settlement of claim must be handled within forty-five (45) days from receipt of claim. Methods of salvaging or disposal of damaged goods, hazardous or non-hazardous must be approved by SHIPPER and is the responsibility of the CARRIER when such damage is due to the negligence of the CARRIER, except to the extent that such damages is caused by the negligence of SHIPPER.
9. Claims for overcharges and undercharges shall be governed by the statute of limitations stated in 49 U.S.C. 14705, and administered in accordance with 49 C.F.R. 1008, unless otherwise provided herein. If a shipper elects to submit a dispute over the originally billing involving the applicability or reasonableness of the rate charges to the Surface Transportation Board for resolution, the Shipper must contest the billing by mailing or faxing a protest to the carrier within 180 days of the date it or its agent receives the original billing from the carrier. Overcharges and undercharges resulting from typographical, mathematical, weight or clerical errors, or duplicate payments may be filed at any time within 18 months of delivery, and pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 14101(b), the parties hereby expressly waive any notification requirements that may be applicable under 49 U.S.C. 13710(a)(3) for such overcharges and undercharges. If a carrier seeks to assess additional charges, it must mail or fax its billing within 180 days of the date on it original billing. Once protested, disputes may be submitted to the Surface Transportation Board for resolution. If not resolved by the STB within 18 months of the delivery date, and action of law must be instituted to preserve the right to collect the amounts sought. Nothing in this agreement or the law shall prohibit a carrier from making a voluntary refund of an overcharge, or a shipper's voluntary payment of an undercharge, whether or not the original billing was contested within 180 days.
10. In the event that property has been refused by the consignee, or carrier is unable to deliver the property for any reason, carrier shall immediately notify shipper by telephone or other electronic communication system. Said notice shall be confirmed in writing by carrier, stating the time and date that free time shall expire and the storage charges to be applicable upon expiration of free time. Storage charges shall begin after 48 hours of carrier's notification, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and business holidays declared by any of the parties hereto. Shipper shall give disposition instructions to carrier within 48 hours of its receipt of notice of carrier's inability to deliver. If disposition is not received within said 48 hours, carrier shall send a "Second and Final Notice of On-hand Freight" via facsimile transmission or EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). If disposition instructions are not received within 48 hours of the "Second and Final Notice", carrier may advertise in two newspapers of general circulation for two consecutive weeks that the goods on hand will be offered for sale at a general auction, stating the time and place of said sale. No later than 10 days prior to the auction sale, carrier shall send a copy of the auction notice to seller via facsimile transmission or EDI when published.
11. Notice of loss or damage shall be given to carrier on the delivery receipt by the consignee and confirmed by the driver. Concealed loss or damage shall be reported to the delivering carrier within 15 working days unless the claimant explains why the loss or damage could not reasonably have been reported within 15 days. When notice has first been given to carrier after 15 days, claimant shall offer proof that the loss or damage did not occur after delivery to consignee, and carrier shall resolve the claim inlight of the said proof.
12. Carrier shall be liable for the number of shipping units or packages noted on the bill of lading, and shall deliver them in the same condition or unitized package as tendered at origin. If carrier's driver is not able or is not given an opportunity to inspectand count the shipment prior to acceptance by the carrier, the bill of lading must be noted "SL & C" (Shippers Load & Count). When less-than-truckload shipments are loaded and counted by the shipper, such shipments will be inspected and counted by carrier at its first break-bulk point and all discrepancies shall be reported immediately to shipper.
13. No carrier hereunder will carry or be liable in any way for any documents, coin money, or for any articles of extraordinary value unless a special agreement to do so and a stipulated value of the articles are endorsed on the bill of lading.
14. CARRIER agrees to notify SHIPPER immediately upon discovery of any evident tampering or an occurrence that results in spilled, damaged or lost freight, regardless of whether or not the product is known to be hazardous, and to await instructions or advice from SHIPPER before further loading, transporting or delivering any goods potentially effected by spilled, leaked or released materials or other matter. Such notification shall be provided via phone call to CHEMTREC (800-424-9300) or as noted on face of bill of lading.
