Opinion ID: 411763
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sufficiency of the Sample

Text: 25 Turning to the procedures followed by Manske in determining the extent of the damage, there is no question that the tests performed by him were sufficient to determine whether the products were damaged. Rather, the issue is whether he tested a sufficient number of each product to justify the conclusion that the entire shipment of products susceptible to freezing was damaged. 26 It is beyond peradventure that the extent and amount of damages to an entire shipment may be extrapolated from a representative sampling. Thousand Springs Trout Farms v. IML Freight, Inc., 558 F.2d 539 (9th Cir.1977); Compagnie De Navigation, Etc. v. Mondial United Corp., 316 F.2d 163 (5th Cir.1963); Imperial Veal & Lamb Co. v. Caravan Refrigerated Cargo, Inc., 554 F.Supp. 499 (S.D.N.Y.1982); Amstar Corp. v. M/V Alexandros T., 472 F.Supp. 1289, 1297 (D.Md.1979); Interstate Steel Corp. v. S.S. Crystal Gem, 317 F.Supp. 112, 121 (S.D.N.Y.1970); Royston Distributors, Inc. v. Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc., 252 F.Supp. 480, 488 (E.D.Pa.1965); Wood, Damages in Cargo Cases, 45 Tul.L.Rev. 932, 945 (1971). 27 A sampling will be accepted as proof of damages when a reasonably representative sample has been taken and so long as the sample is sufficient to indicate fairly the quality, condition and nature of damage to the whole cargo. Amstar Corp. v. M/V Alexandros T., 472 F.Supp. at 1297. The court here held that the sampling technique employed by Johnson, Military Standard 105-D, was not a proper means of establishing damages. This holding was largely based upon the court's interpretation of the stated purpose of the standard. The court relied upon Paragraph 5.2 of the document, which states:Each lot or batch shall, as far as is practicable, consist of units of product of a single type, grade, class, size, and composition, manufactured under essentially the same conditions and at essentially the same time. 28 The court seems to have determined that the reference to products being manufactured precluded application of the sampling standard to merchandise which may have been affected differentially by differential exposure to natural conditions subsequent to its manufacture. We reject this limitation for two reasons. Initially, we note that the quoted paragraph does not purport to limit the scope of the sampling technique, but rather simply describes the desirability of uniform batches. The intended scope of the sampling plan is set forth in Section 1 of the document, Paragraph 1.2 of which reads as follows: 29 APPLICATION. Sampling plans designated in this publication are applicable, but not limited, to inspection of the following: 30
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38 (emphasis added). 39 It is clear that this sampling plan was intended to encompass more than just manufacturing. The court was concerned that the sampling plan was only applicable to products uniformly affected by a process or event, such as manufacturing. Yet supplies in storage and raw materials are as much subject to varying conditions as the products in this case. 40 Of more significance, though, than the stated scope of the standard is whether its application was reasonable in this case. Manske testified that he chose products to sample so as to obtain a representative selection from all locations in the car. In addition, he stated that he was conservative in the application of the sampling standard to ensure the validity of the sample. Upon these facts, we find that the sampling procedures set forth in Military Standard 105-D were a sufficient basis from which to extrapolate the amount of damage to the whole shipment. To require, as would the trial court, a plaintiff to test every case in a carload shipment would be impracticable and serve little purpose.