Other Claims - Maximum Liability
BIFA Section 26(A)
Subject to clause 2(B) and 11(B) above and sub-clause (D) below, the Company’s liability howsoever arising and, notwithstanding that the cause of loss or damage be unexplained, shall not exceed (ii) subject to (iii) below, in the case of all other claims:
(a) the value of the subject Goods of the relevant transaction between the Company and its Customer, or
(b) where the weight can be defined, a sum calculated at the rate of two SDR per kilo of the gross weight of the subject Goods of the said transaction, or
(c) 75,000 SDR in respect of any one transaction, whichever shall be the least.
CIFFA Section 15
Without prejudice to any other conditions herein or other defences available to the Company, in no circumstances whatsoever shall the Company be liable to the Customer or owner for
(c)amounts in excess of a maximum recoverable of 75, 000 SDR's per transaction.
FIATA Model Rules Section 8.3.3.
Other type of loss
The provisions of Art. 7.3. notwithstanding, the Freight Forwarder's liability for any type of loss not mentioned in 8.3.1. and 8.3.2. shall not exceed the total amount of ...... SDR *) for each incident unless a larger amount is received from a person for whom the Freight Forwarder is responsible.
*) The maximum liability amount is intentionally left open and has to be completed according to the situation in the country where the Model Rules are applied.
SSV Section 26.
Limitation of the amount of liability
The liability of the forwarder is limited: For other services (customs clearance etc.), to the amount of the loss or damage incurred Total liability shall not exceed 20,000 special drawing rights per occurence.
|
Peter Jones' Commentary:
A global limitation is necessary. There may be occasions when the claim is not for loss, damage or delay, but breach of a forwarding undertaking.
BIFA (2005) includes a new clause that covers the circumstance where an error is repeated or represents the continuation of the original error, the liability of the forwarder is the loss occurred or 75,000 SDR in the aggregate for any one trading year.
These conditions also provide that the value of the SDR is to be calculated as at the date when the claim is received by the company in writing.
As the FIATA Model Rules suggest, the global limitation amounts can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The SSV uses significantly greater limitation amounts (8.33 SDR per kilo) for claims for loss or damage, and a lower amount of 20,000 SDR for other claims. As has been stated, the 8.33 SDR figure is used because Swiss forwarders are often engaged on CMR traffic.