Phoenix Partner Julie E. Maurer, Phoenix Associates David C. Clukey and John Daller, and Chicago Associate Thomas M. Wolf successfully opposed a petition for remand on behalf of our defendant motor carrier client in a case before the Northern District of Illinois involving a unique interstate household goods move. The plaintiffs were concurrently ordered to amend their complaint and expressly invoke 49 U.S.C. §14706 (the Carmack Amendment) in lieu of state and common law claims.
In 2012, the plaintiffs contracted for the carrier to move their household goods from Illinois to Pennsylvania. After the carrier took possession of the goods, the plaintiffs were uncertain about where to move, but requested that the carrier maintain possession of their goods until the plaintiffs decided where to reside. In 2018, the plaintiffs ultimately moved to Vermont, and a second carrier delivered the goods. Thereafter, the plaintiffs claimed that some of their goods were damaged and missing.
The focal point of the parties' arguments concerned whether the plaintiffs' move consisted of one or two shipments. If the latter was the case, the Carmack Amendment arguably would not control the lawsuit, thus potentially exposing our client to state and common law claims. In denying the plaintiffs' petition, the court found the move consisted of only one shipment because, inter alia, the parties' mutual intention from the outset was for plaintiffs' goods to be moved out-of-state, and the move was completed under one bill of lading.
Originally published on May 2020
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