Court Opinion

ID: 9521416
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:04:33.172115+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:49:44.387782
License: Public Domain

SILVERMAN, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent.
Under the Carmack Amendment, the liability provisions of a bill of lading cover “(A) the receiving carrier, (B) the delivering carrier, or (C) another carrier over whose line or route the property is transported.” 49 U.S.C. § 14706. “[T]he liability of such participating carrier is fixed by the applicable valid terms of the original bill of lading.” Missouri, K. & T. Ry. Co. of Texas v. Ward, 244 U.S. 383, 387, 37 S.Ct. 617, 61 L.Ed. 1213 (1917).
The parties stipulated that the bill of lading limited the carrier’s liability to the shipper to $5 per pound. That stipulation is dispositive and forecloses further debate about the bill of lading’s liability limit. Because Baldwin operated under the bill of lading, its liability to the shipper — Net-gear — was governed by the bill of lading. The separate Master Agreement between Baldwin and FedEx defined the liability of Baldwin to FedEx, not Baldwin to Net-gear. I would reverse.