Transportation & Logistics Q&A in Plain English Book VII By George Carl Pezold and Raymond A. Selvaggio The Transportation & Logistics Council, Inc. 120 Main Street, Huntington, New York 11743 Copyright(c) 2008 by Pezold, Smith, Hirschmann & Selvaggio, LLC Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-075736 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Printed in the United States of America. INTRODUCTION "Transportation & Logistics - Q&A in Plain English - Book VII" is the seventh in this series of the Council's popular texts. Based on hundreds of actual questions submitted to TL&C's “Q&A” forum on the Internet, to the TL&C HotLine and to the TransDigest by shippers, carriers and logistics professionals, the new text is loaded with informative answers by George Carl Pezold and Raymond A. Selvaggio, two leading transportation attorneys. These are real questions, from business people with a wide range of day-to-day transportation and logistics problems, and the answers are clear, concise and to the point. "Transportation & Logistics - Q&A in Plain English - Book VII" is intended to be a useful deskbook, and a refresher and handy reference for experienced transportation and logistics professionals. It will also serve as an indispensable teaching aid for students and newcomers to the transportation and logistics field. For those wishing to explore subjects in greater depth, there are numerous references to TL&C texts and educational materials, such as Transportation, Logistics and the Law (2002), Freight Claims in Plain English (3rd Ed. 1995), as well as to relevant statutes, regulations and court decisions. In addition, readers may continue to view timely Q&A's as they are published in TransDigest, either by joining the Council or by subscribing. Information on membership and publications may be found by visiting the Council's web site at www.tlcouncil.org. ABOUT THE AUTHORS GEORGE CARL PEZOLD George Carl Pezold is admitted to practice as a member of the Bar of the State of New York, as well as numerous federal district and appeals courts. He holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and an M.E. degree from Stevens Institute of Technology. He is the senior member of the firm of Pezold, Smith, Hirschmann & Selvaggio, LLC in Huntington, New York, concentrating in the areas of transportation and logistics. Mr. Pezold is Executive Director of the Transportation & Logistics Council, Executive Director/General Counsel of the Freight Users Association of New York, and former General Counsel of the Long Island Import-Export Association. He is a member of The Maritime Lawyers Association, the Association for Transportation Law Professionals, Conference of Freight Counsel, National Association of Subrogation Professionals, and the state and local Bar Associations. In addition to his extensive litigation background during the last thirty years, Mr. Pezold is author of Contracting for Transportation & Logistics Services (TCPC 2001); Co-author of Freight Claims in Plain English (3rd Ed. 1995), has written numerous papers and articles, and is a frequent speaker at seminars and programs on transportation and logistics. Mr. Pezold has served on many committees and advisory boards, including LIA Transportation Committee, Freight Services Improvement Conference, Freight Distribution Advisory Group, Suffolk County Transportation Advisory Board, Advisory Committee on the Comprehensive Plan, LIRR Rail Freight Advisory Board, etc. RAYMOND A. SELVAGGIO Raymond A. Selvaggio is a member of the law firm of Pezold, Smith, Hirschmann & Selvaggio, LLC. Mr. Selvaggio's practice concentrates in litigation and transactional matters related to transportation and administrative law. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School and is a member of the Transportation Lawyers Association, as well as the New York State, Suffolk County and American Bar Associations. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court as well as several Circuit Courts of Appeal and Federal District Courts. He is also General Counsel to the Transportation & Logistics Council, Inc. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to thank Stephen W. Beyer, Editor of the TransDigest, and Michael Bange, of Champion Transportation Services, for their invaluable assistance in editing and proofreading the text. TABLE OF CONTENTS Bankrupt Carriers – Trustee Retention of Records..................................................................... 1 Bills of Lading – Multiple Parties and Shipments...................................................................... 1 Bills of Lading – VICS ............................................................................................................... 2 Brokerage – Documents for Importation .................................................................................... 2 Brokers – Required Licensing ....................................................................................................2 Contracts – Broker Liability ....................................................................................................... 3 Contracts – Liability Limitations................................................................................................ 3 Freight Brokers and Shipper’s Agents........................................................................................ 4 Freight Charges – “Bumping Rule”............................................................................................ 4 Freight Charges – “Truck Ordered But Not Used”..................................................................... 5 Freight Charges – Accessorial Charges ...................................................................................... 6 Freight Charges – Addition of Fuel Surcharges ......................................................................... 6 Freight Charges – Bill Paid Short for Not Following Instructions ............................................. 7 Freight Charges – Billing for Redelivery.................................................................................... 7 Freight Charges – Broker Terms................................................................................................. 8 Freight Charges – Carrier Seeking to Collect on Brokered Load............................................... 8 Freight Charges – Carrier Seeks to Collect on Double Broker Load ......................................... 9 Freight Charges – Claim for Payment on Brokered Load ........................................................ 10 Freight Charges – Defaulting Broker........................................................................................ 10 Freight Charges – Freight Held Hostage .................................................................................. 11 Freight Charges – Interpreting the NMFC When No Value Shown......................................... 11 Freight Charges – Liability for Overweight.............................................................................. 11 Freight Charges – NAFTA Shipment ....................................................................................... 12 Freight Charges – Offsetting Overcharges Against Past Due Invoices .................................... 12 Freight Charges – Question of ‘Exclusive Use’ ....................................................................... 13 Freight Charges – Rebilling from Prepaid to Collect ............................................................... 13 Freight Charges – Recovering Duplicate Payments ................................................................. 13 Freight Charges – Refrigerated Load Not Kept Cold Enough.................................................. 14 Freight Charges – Refused Collect Shipment........................................................................... 14 Freight Charges – Statute of Limitations.................................................................................. 14 Freight Charges – Statute of Limitations.................................................................................. 15 Freight Charges – Storage Fees on Abandoned Shipment........................................................ 16 Freight Charges – Suit on Penalty for Late Delivery................................................................ 16 Freight Charges – Terms Covering Loading and Unloading.................................................... 17 Freight Charges – Time Limits................................................................................................. 17 Freight Charges – Trying to Collect Old Freight Bills ............................................................. 18 Freight Charges – Who Is Liable? ............................................................................................ 18 Freight Claims – Assignment of Claim to Broker .................................................................... 19 Freight Claims - Averages ........................................................................................................ 19 Freight Claims – BMC-32 ........................................................................................................ 20 Freight Claims – Broker Liability............................................................................................. 20 Freight Claims