Liability of common carriers for damages to property in transit; bills of lading - 66 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2304

Legal Research Home > Pennsylvania Statutes

     § 2304.  Liability of common carriers for damages to property in
                transit; bills of lading.
        (a)  General rule.--Every common carrier that receives
     property for transportation between points within this
     Commonwealth shall issue a receipt or bill of lading therefor,
     and shall be liable to the lawful holder thereof for any loss,
     damage, or injury to such property caused by it, or any other
     common carrier to which such property may be delivered, or over
     whose line such property may be transported. No contract,
     receipt, rule or regulation shall exempt such common carrier
     from the liability hereby imposed. The commission may, by
     regulation or order, authorize or require any common carrier to
     establish and maintain rates related to the value of shipments
     declared in writing by the shipper, or agreed upon in writing as
     the release value of such shipments; such declaration or
     agreement to have no effect other than to limit liability and
     recovery to an amount not exceeding the value so declared or
     released. Any tariff filed pursuant to such regulation or order
     shall specifically refer thereto.
        (b)  Rights of holder and common carrier.--This section does
     not deprive any lawful holder of such receipt or bill of lading
     of any remedy or right of action which such holder has under
     existing laws. Any common carrier issuing such receipt or bill
     of lading shall, in the event of a recovery of a judgment
     against, or of a satisfaction made by, such common carrier for
     such loss or damage, be entitled to recover from the common
     carrier on whose line the loss or damage shall have been
     sustained, an amount not in excess of the loss or damage to such
     property which the lawful holder of such bill of lading or
     receipt would otherwise have been entitled to recover against
     such last mentioned common carrier, and not in excess of the
     amount actually paid to the holder of such receipt or bill of
     lading.

Last modified: November 27, 2007