Pan American World Airways, Inc., a Corporation v. California Stevedore and Ballast Company, a Corporation

The ultimate issue in this case is whether the bill of lading concerned here offered the shipper a fair opportunity to declare a value higher than the $500 per package limitation of liability stipulated in the bill of lading, thus complying with the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA), 46 U.S.C. § 1300, et seq. 1 The district court found and concluded that the provisions of the Barber Line bill of lading purporting to limit the liability of Barber, as carrier, were invalid since Pan American World Airways, Inc. (Pan Am), as shipper, was not given such fair opportunity and, thereby, the…