COURIER TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. (a) The carrier or the party in possession of any of the property described in these Terms of Service (which are hereby made part of the Customer Order, by reference).shall be liable for loss or damage said property only as hereinafter provided
(b) Carrier shall have no liability for any loss or damage to a shipment or for any delay caused by an Act of God, the public enemy, public authority, or any act, omission, or default of the shipper. The carrier or party in possession shall not be liable for loss, damage or delay which results: when the property is stopped and held in transit upon request of the shipper, owner or party entitled to make such request; or from faulty or impassible highway, or by lack of capacity of a highway, bridge or ferry; or from a defect or vice in the property.
2. Unless arranged or agreed upon, in writing, prior to shipment, carrier is not bound to transport a shipment by a particular schedule or in time for a particular market but is responsible to transport with reasonable dispatch. In case of physical necessity, carrier may forward a shipment via another carrier. Carrier shall have no liability for any claim for delay absent a separate written agreement to deliver by a date certain. In the case of delivery by a date certain, the maximum potential damages recoverable by shipper for late delivery shall be the freight charges paid for that singular shipment.
3. (a) As a condition precedent to recovery, any claim for loss, damage, or delay must be submitted in writing with the carrier identified on the face of the Customer Order. The failure to take exceptions to the condition of goods, and the execution of this document by the consignee without exceptions shall be direct evidence that the shipment was received in good condition. Any claim of concealed damage requires notice to the carrier within 24 hours of delivery. Carrier shall have no liability for concealed damage where shipper fails to notify carrier in writing of concealed damage within 24 hours of delivery. Any cargo for which consignee did not take a written exception on the delivery document at the time of delivery shall be considered concealed damage.
(b) Claims for loss, damage, or delay must be filed within 15 days of delivery of shipment or the reasonable delivery date of such shipment if undelivered. Failure to file such written claim shall be deemed a waiver of the right to claim damages by such shipper.
(c) Suits for loss, damage, injury or delay shall be instituted against any carrier no later than one year and one day from the day when written notice is given by the carrier to the claimant that the carrier has disallowed the claim or any part or parts of the claim specified in the notice. Where claims are not filed or suits are not instituted thereon in accordance with the foregoing provisions, no carrier shall be liable, and such claims will not be paid.
(d) Any carrier or party liable for loss of or damage to any of said property shall have the full benefit of any insurance that may have been effected, upon or on account of said property, so far as this shall not void the policies or contracts of insurance, provided that the carrier receiving the benefit of such insurance will reimburse the claimant for the premium paid on the insurance policy or contract.
4. (a) In all cases not prohibited by law, where a shipper fails to declare a value to the carrier in writing prior to tendering the subject shipment, which declaration is received by carrier, and rate increase is agreed upon and paid by the shipper, the value of the shipment is hereby agreed to be not more than $50.00 per shipment, or ten cents per pound, per article, whichever is less.
(b) The limitation of liability provided for in this section shall be enforceable regardless of cause of loss, damage or delay, including gross negligence, recklessness or willful and wanton conduct. Nothing short of conversion to the carrier’s own use, for the direct benefit of the corporation itself, shall vitiate this limitation of liability.
(c) The limit of Florida Courier Service’s liability may be increased up to $500.00 per shipment maximum. Florida Courier Service will not carry a shipment declared to have a value in excess of $500.00 under this bill of lading. Any shipment with a value in excess of $500.00 must be represented by a separate written agreement whereby the commodity is described in detail and the carrier expressly agrees to such greater value. Such separate written agreement must be executed by duly authorized representatives of each party at least twenty-four hours prior to transportation.
(d) Under no circumstances will any shipment containing particularly high valued items such as cash, furs, jewelry, coins, negotiable instruments, or items of similar value to weight ratios be accepted pursuant to a Customer Order. Any such shipments must be covered by a separate written agreement executed by both parties. If such a shipment is inadvertently accepted by carrier, or mislabeled by shipper for any reason, Carrier’s liability shall be limited as provided in section 4(a).
(e) Under no circumstances will Florida Courier Service be liable for loss or damage caused by delay or by improperly packed or improperly labeled shipments, or for any “special” or “consequential” or “economic” damages including, but not limited to lost interest, profits, income, or business opportunities whether or not Florida Courier Service acknowledged or knew such damages may be incurred.
5. No employee or representative of Florida Courier Service is authorized to alter, vary or contradict these terms regarding Florida Courier Service’s liability.
6. Should any claim in any amount even if in excess of such limits of Florida Courier Service’s liability be asserted against Florida Courier Service by any third party for any loss or damage to any shipments carried hereunder, shipper agrees to indemnify Florida Courier Service and hold it harmless against any damages, expenses, or cost including attorney’s fees, arising out of any such claim regardless of the cause.
7. Freight charges pursuant to this bill of lading are due within three (3) business days of delivery of said shipment unless a credit agreement is in place between Carrier and Shipper. In the event of customer’s failure to pay freight charges in full within fifteen (15) days of delivery, customer hereby agrees to pay liquidated damages in the amount of thirty percent of the original freight charges, in addition to the original freight charges, plus reasonable attorney’s fees and all costs of collection whether or not suit is commenced. No shipper or consignee shall be entitled to set off any claims for loss, damage or delay against freight charges owed to carrier, and any pending or denied claims shall not serve to toll or void the Carrier’s collection efforts, loss of discount, or Carrier’s entitlement to fees. This fee provision extends only to the collection of delinquent freight charges, and does not apply to any other claims, demands, or litigation of any kind between the parties.
8. It is the sole and non-delegable duty of shipper to provide appropriate packaging, containerization, sealing, palletizing, boxing, or crating of product tendered to Carrier. All cargo must be packaged and prepared in a manner so as to withstand the normal rigors of motor carriage and handling. Acceptance by Carrier of any package or cargo does not serve as acquiescence or agreement to the fitness of the packaging or packing of said cargo. In the event that a failure, flaw, omission, mistake, or negligence of any kind of degree in the packaging of the product tendered by shipper to Carrier, shipper hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Carrier from any and all damage resulting from said insufficient, improper, failing, or negligent packaging, including damage to other commodities transported or stored by Carrier and damage to Carrier’s property or that of any other entity or individual. It is shipper’s further duty to ensure that all product is accurately and properly marked, classified, and tendered in accordance with these rules and the normal standards of interstate and intrastate shipping. Carrier accepts all goods for shipment from Shipper in good faith. It is not incumbent upon Carrier to be aware of the specific content of any shipment, except as declared by shipper. Shipper shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless, Carrier from any damage, loss, liability, or claims of any kind resulting from the improper or negligent packing, marking, description or classification of any product. Any and every party, whether principal or agent, shipper or consignee, who ships explosives, illegal goods, contraband, or dangerous goods, shall be liable for and indemnify the carrier against all loss or damage caused by such goods. Such goods may be warehoused and disposed of at owner’s risk and expense or destroyed without compensation.
9. Nothing in this bill of lading shall limit the right of the carrier to require the prepayment or guarantee of the charges at the time of shipment or prior to delivery. If the description of articles or other information on this bill of lading is found to be incorrect or incomplete, the freight charges must be paid based upon the articles actually shipped.
10. If the consignee refuses the shipment tendered for delivery by carrier or if carrier is unable to deliver the shipment, because of fault or mistake of the consignor or consignee or for any reason not directly attributable to carrier, the carrier’s liability shall then become that of a warehouseman, except that the limitations of liability herein shall still apply unless a lesser limitation is found to apply by virtue of the law. Carrier shall promptly attempt to provide notice, by telephonic or electronic communication as provided on the face of the bill of lading, if so indicated, to the shipper or the party, if any, designated to receive notice on this bill of lading. Storage charges, based on carrier’s terms and conditions, shall start no sooner than the next business day following the attempted notification. Storage may be, at the carrier’s option, in any location that provides reasonable protection against loss or damage. The carrier may place the shipment in public storage at the owner’s expense and without liability to the carrier.
(b) If the carrier does not receive disposition instructions within 48 hours of the time of carrier’s attempted first notification, the carrier will attempt to issue a second and final confirmed notification. Such notice shall advise that if the carrier does not receive disposition instructions within 10 days of that notification, the carrier may offer the shipment for sale at a public auction and the carrier has the right to offer the shipment for sale. The amount of sale will be applied to the carrier’s invoice for transportation, storage, and other lawful charges. The owner will be responsible for the balance of charges not covered by the sale of the goods. If there is a balance remaining after all charges and expenses are paid, such balance will be paid to the owner of the property sold hereunder, upon claim and proof of ownership.