Q: I have a question about The Carmack Amendment.
I looked at the information in the link you sent. Thank you for responding.
First, I searched for "diminished", then for "only" in order to locate anything that states that property is only the physical article that was damaged and nothing else that is commonly also known as part of a property loss such as Diminished Value.
The purpose of the Carmack Amendment was to relieve shippers of the burden of searching out a
particular negligent carrier from among the often numerous carriers handling an interstate shipment of
goods.” Reider v. Thompson, 339 U.S. 113, 119, 70 S.Ct. 499, 94 L.Ed. 698 (1950).
A car transporters insurer has denied payment for inherent diminished value and loss of use citing The Carmack Amendment. The insurer feels the amendment only applies to the property damage (repairs to a new car being transported) for which they took full liability. Is this a narrow view that would absolve them from compensating a plaintiff for the car's Diminished Value?
A: The Carmack Amendment is a 1906 revision to the Interstate Commerce Act of 1877, which regulates the relationship between shipping companies and the owners of goods under shipment. The Carmack Amendment limits the liabilities of these shipping companies, known as carriers, to loss or damage of the property itself. See, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/14706 and https://blog.intekfreight-logistics.com/carmack-amendment-explained
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