Eight cases of textile goods belonging to the respondents had been lost in the course of a voyage aboard the S.S. Verentia, owned by the appellant company, under circumstances which were found to constitute deviation from the provisions of the Bill of Lading. That contract contained a clause under which the appellants became not accountable for any goods of whatever description above the value of 20 pounds per package unless the value was set out in the Bill of Lading and extra freight agreed on and paid.
Held: The clause was insufficient to protect the steamship company from the effects of its acts of deviation. A bailee may be exempted from liability by an exemption clause, but any such must be expressed in clear and unambiguous terms.
Judges:
Viscount Dilhorne
Citations:
[1927] AC 1, 42 TLR 653
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – George Mitchell (Chesterhall) Ltd v Finney Lock Seeds Ltd CA 29-Sep-1982
The buyer bought 30lbs of cabbage seed, but the seed was not correct, and the crop was worthless. The seed cost pounds 192, but the farmer lost pounds 61,000. The seed supplier appealed the award of the larger amount and interest, saying that their . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Contract
Updated: 15 May 2022; Ref: scu.266865