Our Transportation Practice Group provides coverage advice and opinions, defense of first and third-party claims and recovery representation in many inland marine and wet marine insurance areas, including motor truck cargo liability, broker liability, contingent cargo liability, warehouse legal liability, ocean cargo, scheduled floater coverage, installation floater and riggers legal liability.
When personal property in the custody of transporters (land, sea or air) becomes damaged or lost, the claims of the owners of the property against the transporters and others are governed by the transportation contract and applicable law (Carmack, COGSA and Warsaw). Defense and prosecution of these claims requires specialized and extensive experience. Our Transportation Practice Group attorneys have both. Our experience includes:
- Coverage opinions and successful defense of motor carriers in high value through bill cargo damages claims and suits (ocean, rail and motor truck).
- Large loss recovery against a private carrier acting as a common carrier and, in many other cases, recoveries against and defense of common and contract carriers.
- Presenting cargo and warehouse claim training programs to dedicated inland marine units of four major insurers and annual and regional PLRB claim conferences.
- Defense and prosecution of claims against warehousemen and storers in possession of goods of others.
Scheduled property coverage, installation coverage and riggers legal liability coverages provide a unique combination of first and third-party issues. The inland marine policy conditions, coupled with these specialized and sometimes manuscript coverages, require inland marine experience and careful handling. Our Transportation Practice Group attorneys have the necessary skills and experience, and are sensitive to the unique needs of the insurers and insureds in these coverages and claims.
Some policies, claims and lawsuits in which our Inland Marine Practice Group attorneys have participated include:
- Commercial Inland Marine Policy including Builders Risk, Scheduled Property and Equipment Breakdown Endorsement.
- Losses to scheduled equipment from an excluded cause of loss.
- Defense of claims against a rigger where the cause of the loss was negligence transportation, not rigging and package activities.
- Successful defense of warehousemen where the cause of water damage was solely due to and extraordinary weather event.