§ 28:7-403. Obligation of warehouseman or carrier to deliver; excuse.

Current through October 23, 2012

(1) The bailee must deliver the goods to a person entitled under the document who complies with subsections (2) and (3), unless and to the extent that the bailee establishes any of the following:

(a) Delivery of the goods to a person whose receipt was rightful as against the claimant;

(b) Damage to or delay, loss or destruction of the goods for which the bailee is not liable;

(c) Previous sale or other disposition of the goods in lawful enforcement of a lien or on warehouseman's lawful termination of storage;

(d) The exercise by a seller of his right to stop delivery pursuant to the provisions of the article on sales (section 28:2-705);

(e) A diversion, reconsignment or other disposition pursuant to the provisions of this article (section 28:7-303) or tariff regulating such right;

(f) Release, satisfaction or any other fact affording a personal defense against the claimant;

(g) Any other lawful excuse.

(2) A person claiming goods covered by a document of title must satisfy the bailee's lien where the bailee so requests or where the bailee is prohibited by law from delivering the goods until the charges are paid.

(3) Unless the person claiming is one against whom the document confers no right under section 28:7-503 (1), he must surrender for cancellation or notation of partial deliveries any outstanding negotiable document covering the goods, and the bailee must cancel the document or conspicuously note the partial delivery thereon or be liable to any person to whom the document is duly negotiated.

(4) "Person entitled under the document" means holder in the case of a negotiable document, or the person to whom delivery is to be made by the terms of or pursuant to written instructions under a non-negotiable document.

                
                    var val = document.getElementById('citecontent').innerHTML;
                    art.dialog.defaults.title = window.location.href;
                    art.dialog.data('cite', val);
                    art.dialog.data('homeDemoPath', '/Scripts/plus/artDialog/');
                    art.dialog.open('/Scripts/plus/artDialog/citeiframe.html');

(Dec. 30, 1963, 77 Stat. 727, Pub. L. 88-243, § 1.)

HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES

UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE COMMENT

Prior Uniform Statutory Provision

Sections 8 through 12, 16 and 19, Uniform Warehouse Receipts Act; Sections 11 through 15, 19 and 22, Uniform Bills of Lading Act.

Changes

Consolidated and rewritten.

Purposes of Changes

1. The general and primary purpose of this revision is to simplify the statement of the bailee's obligation on the document. The interrelations of the separate sections of the old uniform acts dealing with "obligation to deliver," "justification in delivering," and "liability for misdelivery" are obscure. The present section is constructed on the basis of stating what previous deliveries or other circumstances operate to excuse the bailee's normal obligation on the document. Accordingly, "justified" deliveries under the old uniform acts now find their place as "excuse" under subsection (1). Unjustified deliveries, i.e., "misdeliveries" under the old acts, are simply omitted from the list of excuses, thus permitting the normal obligation on the document to be asserted.

2. The principal case covered by subsection (1)(a) is delivery to a person whose title is paramount to the rights represented by the document. For example, if a thief deposits stolen goods in a warehouse and takes a negotiable receipt, the warehouseman is not liable on the receipt if he has surrendered the goods to the true owner, even though the receipt is held by a good faith purchaser. See Section 7-503(1). However, if the owner entrusted the goods to a person with power of disposition, and that person deposited the goods and took a negotiable document, the owner's receipt would not be rightful as against a holder to whom the negotiable document was duly negotiated, and delivery to the owner would not give the bailee a defense against such a holder. See Sections 7-502(1)(b), 7-503(1)(a).

3. Subsection (1)(b) amounts to a cross reference to all the tort law that determines the varying responsibilities and standards of care applicable to commercial bailees. A restatement of this tort law would be beyond the scope of this Act. Much of the applicable law as to responsibility of bailees for the preservation of the goods and limitation of liability in case of loss has been codified for particular classes of bailees in interstate and foreign commerce by federal legislation and treaty and for intrastate carriers and other bailees by the regulatory state laws preserved by Section 7-103. In the absence of governing legislation the common law will prevail subject to the minimum standard of reasonable care prescribed by Sections 7-204 and 7- 309 of this Article. The optional language in subsection (1)(b) [not adopted in Minnesota. See Minnesota Code Comments, supra] states the rule laid down for interstate carriers in many federal cases. State decisions are in conflict as to both carriers and warehousemen. Particular states may prefer to adopt the federal rule.

4. Subsection (2) eliminates the implication of the old uniform acts that a request for delivery must be accompanied by a formal tender of the amount of the charges due. Rather, the bailee must request payment of the amount of his lien when asked to deliver, and only in case this request is refused is he justified in declining to deliver because of nonpayment of charges. Where delivery without payment is forbidden by law, the request is treated as implicit. Such a prohibition reflects a policy of uniformity to prevent discrimination by failure to request payment in particular cases.

5. Subsection (3) states the obvious duty of a bailee to take up a negotiable document or note partial deliveries conspicuously thereon, and the result of failure in that duty. It is subject to only one exception, that stated in subsection 1(a) of this section and in Section 7-503(1). It is limited to cases of delivery to a claimant; it has no application, for example, where goods held under a negotiable document are lawfully sold to enforce the bailee's lien.

Cross References

Point 2: Sections 7-502 and 7-503.

Point 3: Sections 7-103, 7-204, 7-309 and 10-103.

Points 5: Section 7-503(1).

Definitional Cross References

"Bailee". Section 7-102.

"Conspicuous". Section 1-201.

"Delivery". Section 1-201.

"Document". Section 7-102.

"Document of title". Section 1-201.

"Duly negotiate". Section 7-501.

"Goods". Section 7-102.

"Person". Section 1-201.

"Receipt of goods". Section 2-103.

"Right" Section 1-201.

"Terms". Section 1-201.

"Warehouseman". Section 7-102.

"Written". Section 1-201.

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 28:7-403.

1973 Ed., § 28:7-403.