Aqualon UK Ltd v Vallana Shipping [1994] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 669 (as approved in Lukoil Kaliningradmorneft plc v Tata Ltd and Global Marine Transportation Inc [1999] 2 Lloy’s Rep 129 - CA)

Citation:Aqualon UK Ltd v Vallana Shipping [1994] 1 Lloyd’s Rep 669 (as approved in Lukoil Kaliningradmorneft plc v Tata Ltd and Global Marine Transportation Inc [1999] 2 Lloy’s Rep 129 - CA)

Link to case on WorldLII (reference).

Rule of thumb: If you have paid for your goods to be transferred without damage and this does not occur, can you sue the carrier? It depends. The nature of the actual contract agreed has to be assessed – some have a higher standard of care than others.

Judgment:

The basic facts of this case were that mobile phone pallets worth about 3.5 million were being transferred. ‘The most obvious are (a) the terms of the particular contract including the nature of the instructions given... (b) any description used or adopted by the parties in relation to the contracting party’s role; (c) the course of any dealings, including the manner of performance at least in so far as it throws light on the way in which the parties understood their relationship; (d) the nature and basis of charging (in particular whether an all-in fee was charged, leaving the contracting party to make such profit as he could from the margin between it and the costs incurred); (e) the nature and terms of any CMR (consignment) note issued’, Mance J

Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.