Vacuum Oil Co. v. Rotterdamsche Lloyd

(after stating the facts as above).

It is settled law that, in the absence of any stipulation to the contrary, a carrier’s liability for loss of goods is measured by the market value of the lost goods at the port of destination on the date when they should have arrived. St. Johns N. F. Shipping Corp. v. Companhia Geral, etc., 263 U. S. 119, 44 S. Ct. 30, 68 L. Ed. 201. This is just. Had the contract for transportation been carried out, the shipper would have had the value of his goods at that time and place, less the freight paid. His loss by the carrier’s breach of contract is the difference…