Exel, Inc. v. Southern Refrigerated Transport, Inc.

OPINION & ORDER

JAMES L. GRAHAM, United States District Judge

A .truck, filled with millions of dollars’ worth of pharmaceuticals was stolen. The trucking company — Southern Refrigerated Transport, Inc. (“SRT”) — is at fault. The shipper — Sandoz, Inc. (“Sandoz") — claims that the pharmaceuticals were worth $8.6 million. A federal statute — the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. § 14706 et seq.— imposes strict liability on motor carriers for “actual loss or injury to.property,” but a narrow exception applies if the shipper agrees to a limitation of liability. SRT argues that Sandoz drafted shipping…