The Uniform Bills of Lading Act was adopted in 1909 and passed by the US

Uniform Law Commission The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), also called the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, is a non-profit, American unincorporated association. Established in 1892, the ULC aims to provide U.S. states (plus the District of C ...

. The act addressed the judicial and legislative treatment of issues such as the extent of the carrier's liability to the

consignee {{Admiralty law In a contract of carriage, the consignee is the Party (law), entity who is financially responsible (the buyer) for the receipt of a shipment. Generally, but not always, the consignee is the same as the receiver. If a sender dis ...

of the goods or to the buyer of the bill of lading based upon the carrier's issuance of the bill. It governed the relationship between persons with interest in the goods, and carriers who transported those goods. It set / described how a carrier could limit its liability.

Background

A bill of lading is a

legal document Legal instrument is a law, legal term of art that is used for any formally executed written document that can be formally attributed to its author, records and formally expresses a legally enforceable act, process, or contractual duty, obligation ...

used in the transportation industry between a shipper of a particular good and a carrier detailing the type, quantity and destination of the good being transported. This document must accompany the shipped goods and be signed by an authorized representative from the carrier and the shipper. The bill of lading can serve as a Proof of Delivery when the goods are delivered to the destination and signed for by the consignee. These statements reflect either the shipper's representations to the carrier or the carrier's notations from its own inspection of the goods. If the bill of lading specifically notes the defective condition of the goods or their packaging, it is "claused" or "fouled." If no defects are noted, it is called a "clean" bill of lading.

Bill of Lading description

The Bill of Lading designates that a carrier shall assume all risk of loss, damage, delay and liability in the transportation of any goods for shippers from the time of carrier's receipt of such goods and from a shipper until proper delivery has been made. Carriers are responsible for full actual loss. If the consignee of goods finds the freight damaged or unacceptable the bill of lading also serves as a legal instrument to dispute the delivery of goods in accordance to the provisions of

Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

Section 1005, Section 14706 (the Carmack Amendment), and applicable state law to rectify any losses that happened due to the carrier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uniform Bill Of Lading Act United States federal legislation category:1909 in American law