§ 25-7-301. Liability for nonreceipt or misdescription; "said to contain"; "shipper's weight, load, and count"; improper handling.
PART 3.
BILLS OF LADING: SPECIALPROVISIONS.
§ 25‑7‑301. Liability for nonreceipt or misdescription; "said to contain";"shipper's weight, load, and count"; improper handling.
(a) A consignee of anonnegotiable bill of lading which has given value in good faith, or a holderto which a negotiable bill has been duly negotiated, relying upon thedescription of the goods in the bill or upon the date shown in the bill, mayrecover from the issuer damages caused by the misdating of the bill or thenonreceipt or misdescription of the goods, except to the extent that the billindicates that the issuer does not know whether any part or all of the goods infact were received or conform to the description, such as in a case in whichthe description is in terms of marks or labels or kind, quantity, or conditionor the receipt or description is qualified by "contents or condition ofcontents of packages unknown," "said to contain,""shipper's weight, load, and count," or words of similar import, ifthat indication is true.
(b) If goods are loadedby the issuer of a bill of lading:
(1) The issuer shallcount the packages of goods if shipped in packages and ascertain the kind andquantity if shipped in bulk; and
(2) Words such as"shipper's weight, load, and count," or words of similar importindicating that the description was made by the shipper are ineffective exceptas to goods concealed in packages.
(c) If bulk goods areloaded by a shipper that makes available to the issuer of a bill of ladingadequate facilities for weighing those goods, the issuer shall ascertain thekind and quantity within a reasonable time after receiving the shipper'srequest in a record to do so. In that case, "shipper's weight" orwords of similar import are ineffective.
(d) The issuer of abill of lading, by including in the bill the words "shipper's weight,load, and count," or words of similar import, may indicate that the goodswere loaded by the shipper, and, if that statement is true, the issuer is notliable for damages caused by the improper loading. However, omission of suchwords does not imply liability for damages caused by improper loading.
(e) A shipperguarantees to an issuer the accuracy at the time of shipment of thedescription, marks, labels, number, kind, quantity, condition, and weight, asfurnished by the shipper, and the shipper shall indemnify the issuer againstdamage caused by inaccuracies in those particulars. This right of indemnitydoes not limit the issuer's responsibility or liability under the contract ofcarriage to any person other than the shipper. (1919, c. 65, ss. 20 to 22; C.S., ss. 302 to 304;1965, c. 700, s. 1; 1967, c. 24, s. 12; 2006‑112, s. 25.)