Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/147844
Feature Story Valuation It's important to understand that the standard household goods limitation of economic liability is sixty cents (60¢) per pound per article. This means that if the mover or warehouseman is liable for the loss or damage, the customer (the owner of the goods) collects sixty cents multiplied times the weight of the article(s) or item(s) lost, damaged or destroyed. For example, should a 10 pound lamp get dropped and broken, customer receives $6.00. In order to have this limitation be upheld by the courts, the customer must be given the opportunity to declare increased value(s). However, the ensuing problem is that regardless of the value declared by the customer, if the loss is the result of one of the five exceptions and the carrier is free from negligence, the shipper or owner receives no compensation. Warehousemen, unlike carriers, are only responsible for providing "ordinary care" to the insured property. A failure to do so is called "negligence." If the loss or damage did not result of negligence, the bailor receives nothing. To better understand the role of the mover/warehouseman in this scenario, here is an example: John Doe moves from his home in Massachusetts to Florida. John is selling his home in Massachusetts on April 30th and wants his furniture taken out of the home and stored for a short time, then delivered on June 30th when he closes on the Florida home. In this scenario, the "warehouseman" is the entity storing the furniture in the interim, and the "mover" is the trucking company transporting the furniture to and from the "warehouseman." Often / Owner operator/August 2013 / / 36 OO 0813 edit.indd 36 7/8/13 11:52 AM