John Morrell and Company v. Burlington Northern, Inc.

The question involved on this appeal is whether under the Carmack Amendment to the Interstate Commerce Act which provides that a shipper shall recover “the full actual loss, damage, or injury to [its] property caused by” a railroad (49 U.S.C. § 20(11)), it was permissible to apply the contract price method of ascertaining damages instead of the market value method. 1 Liability having been conceded, the district court held that on the particular facts the contract price method rather than the market value rule championed by defendant interstate carrier should be used to measure damages…