Motor carriers will be intimately familiar with the limits of liability for cargo damage and loss. Across Canada, the uniform rules of carriage generally provide for a limit of liability of $2 per pound or $4.41 per kilogram, absent a declared value on the face of the bill of lading. Many carriers have terms and conditions on their bills of lading, on their websites or in shipper-carrier agreements, which include their own limitations of liability stemming from loss, damage or delays in delivery of cargo. Of interest here are losses beyond the value of the cargo where the sole limitation on liability is at common law.
A frequent issue in cargo litigation are claims for consequential losses, which are suffered by a plaintiff as a consequence of the cargo being damaged, destroyed or its delivery delayed. A common example is loss of business damages, incurred by a shipper or consignee due to goods not arriving on time or at all, whether arising through the loss of a customer, from a
