DOT 49 CFR PART 370-2010 PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FOR THE INVESTIGATION AND VOLUNTARY DISPOSITION OF LOSS AND DAMAGE CLAIMS AND PROCESSING SALVAGE.pdf

1、63 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, DOT 370.3 within 30 days after the close of the pe-riod to which it relates. 43 FR 46975, Oct. 12, 1978. Redesignated at 63 FR 52193, Sept. 30, 1998, as amended at 68 FR 4719, Jan. 30, 2003. Redesignated at 71 FR 45742, Aug. 10, 2006, and amended at 71

2、 FR 45743, Aug. 10, 2006 PART 370PRINCIPLES AND PRAC-TICES FOR THE INVESTIGATION AND VOLUNTARY DISPOSITION OF LOSS AND DAMAGE CLAIMS AND PROCESSING SALVAGE Sec. 370.1 Applicability of regulations. 370.3 Filing of claims. 370.5 Acknowledgment of claims. 370.7 Investigation of claims. 370.9 Dispositio

3、n of claims. 370.11 Processing of salvage. AUTHORITY: 49 U.S.C. 13301 and 14706; and 49 CFR 1.73. SOURCE: 62 FR 32042, June 12, 1997, unless otherwise noted. EDITORIAL NOTE: Nomenclature changes to part 370 appear at 66 FR 49870, Oct. 1, 2001. 370.1 Applicability of regulations. The regulations set

4、forth in this part shall govern the processing of claims for loss, damage, injury, or delay to property transported or accepted for transportation, in interstate or foreign commerce, by each motor carrier, water carrier, and freight forwarder (hereinafter called carrier), subject to 49 U.S.C. subtit

5、le IV, part B. 370.3 Filing of claims. (a) Compliance with regulations. A claim for loss or damage to baggage or for loss, damage, injury, or delay to cargo, shall not be voluntarily paid by a carrier unless filed, as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, with the receiving or delivering carrie

6、r, or car-rier issuing the bill of lading, receipt, ticket, or baggage check, or carrier on whose line the alleged loss, damage, in-jury, or delay occurred, within the specified time limits applicable thereto and as otherwise may be required by law, the terms of the bill of lading or other contract

7、of carriage, and all tar-iff provisions applicable thereto. (b) Minimum filing requirements. A written or electronic communication (when agreed to by the carrier and shipper or receiver involved) from a claimant, filed with a proper carrier within the time limits specified in the bill of lading or c

8、ontract of carriage or transportation and: (1) Containing facts sufficient to identify the baggage or shipment (or shipments) of property, (2) Asserting liability for alleged loss, damage, injury, or delay, and (3) Making claim for the payment of a specified or determinable amount of money, shall be

9、 considered as suffi-cient compliance with the provisions for filing claims embraced in the bill of lading or other contract of carriage; Provided, however, That where claims are electronically handled, procedures are established to ensure reasonable carrier access to supporting docu-ments. (c) Docu

10、ments not constituting claims. Bad order reports, appraisal reports of damage, notations of shortage or dam-age, or both, on freight bills, delivery receipts, or other documents, or inspec-tion reports issued by carriers or their inspection agencies, whether the ex-tent of loss or damage is indicate

11、d in dollars and cents or otherwise, shall, standing alone, not be considered by carriers as sufficient to comply with the minimum claim filing require-ments specified in paragraph (b) of this section. (d) Claims filed for uncertain amounts. Whenever a claim is presented against a proper carrier for

12、 an uncertain amount, such as $100 more or less, the carrier against whom such claim is filed shall determine the condition of the baggage or shipment involved at the time of delivery by it, if it was de-livered, and shall ascertain as nearly as possible the extent, if any, of the loss or damage for

13、 which it may be respon-sible. It shall not, however, voluntarily pay a claim under such circumstances unless and until a formal claim in writ-ing for a specified or determinable amount of money shall have been filed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section. (e) Other claim

14、s. If investigation of a claim develops that one or more other carriers has been presented with a similar claim on the same shipment, the carrier investigating such claim VerDate Mar2010 08:20 Dec 16, 2010 Jkt 220216 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:SGML220216.XXX 220216jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1P

15、ROD with CFRProvided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-64 49 CFR Ch. III (10110 Edition) 370.5 shall communicate with each such other carrier and, prior to any agree-ment entered into between or among them as to the proper disposition of such cl

16、aim or claims, shall notify all claimants of the receipt of conflicting or overlapping claims and shall require further substantiation, on the part of each claimant of his/her title to the property involved or his/her right with respect to such claim. 370.5 Acknowledgment of claims. (a) Each carrier

17、 shall, upon receipt in writing or by electronic transmission of a proper claim in the manner and form described in the regulations in the past, acknowledge the receipt of such claim in writing or electronically to the claimant within 30 days after the date of its receipt by the carrier unless the c

18、arrier shall have paid or de-clined such claim in writing or elec-tronically within 30 days of the receipt thereof. The carrier shall indicate in its acknowledgment to the claimant what, if any, additional documentary evidence or other pertinent informa-tion may be required by it further to process

19、the claim as its preliminary ex-amination of the claim, as filed, may have revealed. (b) The carrier shall at the time each claim is received create a separate file and assign thereto a successive claim file number and note that number on all documents filed in support of the claim and all records a

20、nd correspond-ence with respect to the claim, includ-ing the acknowledgment of receipt. At the time such claim is received the car-rier shall cause the date of receipt to be recorded on the face of the claim document, and the date of receipt shall also appear in the carriers acknowl-edgment of recei

21、pt to the claimant. The carrier shall also cause the claim file number to be noted on the shipping order, if in its possession, and the de-livery receipt, if any, covering such shipment, unless the carrier has estab-lished an orderly and consistent inter-nal procedure for assuring: (1) That all info

22、rmation contained in shipping orders, delivery receipts, tally sheets, and all other pertinent records made with respect to the transpor-tation of the shipment on which claim is made, is available for examination upon receipt of a claim; (2) That all such records and docu-ments (or true and complete

23、 reproduc-tions thereof) are in fact examined in the course of the investigation of the claim (and an appropriate record is made that such examination has in fact taken place); and (3) That such procedures prevent the duplicate or otherwise unlawful pay-ment of claims. 370.7 Investigation of claims.

24、 (a) Prompt investigation required. Each claim filed against a carrier in the manner prescribed in this part shall be promptly and thoroughly investigated if investigation has not already been made prior to receipt of the claim. (b) Supporting documents. When a nec-essary part of an investigation, e

25、ach claim shall be supported by the origi-nal bill of lading, evidence of the freight charges, if any, and either the original invoice, a photographic copy of the original invoice, or an exact copy thereof or any extract made therefrom, certified by the claimant to be true and correct with respect t

26、o the property and value involved in the claim; or certification of prices or val-ues, with trade or other discounts, al-lowance, or deductions, of any nature whatsoever and the terms thereof, or depreciation reflected thereon; Pro-vided, however, That where property in-volved in a claim has not bee

27、n invoiced to the consignee shown on the bill of lading or where an invoice does not show price or value, or where the prop-erty involved has been sold, or where the property has been transferred at bookkeeping values only, the carrier shall, before voluntarily paying a claim, require the claimant t

28、o estab-lish the destination value in the quan-tity, shipped, transported, or involved; Provided, further, That when supporting documents are determined to be a nec-essary part of an investigation, the supporting documents are retained by the carriers for possible FMCSA in-spection. (c) Verification

29、 of loss. When an as-serted claim for loss of an entire pack-age or an entire shipment cannot be otherwise authenticated upon inves-tigation, the carrier shall obtain from VerDate Mar2010 08:20 Dec 16, 2010 Jkt 220216 PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:SGML220216.XXX 220216jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1

30、PROD with CFRProvided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-65 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, DOT Pt. 371 the consignee of the shipment involved a certified statement in writing that the property for which the claim is filed has not be

31、en received from any other source. 370.9 Disposition of claims. (a) Each carrier subject to 49 U.S.C. subtitle IV, part B which receives a written or electronically transmitted claim for loss or damage to baggage or for loss, damage, injury, or delay to property transported shall pay, decline, or ma

32、ke a firm compromise settlement offer in writing or electronically to the claimant within 120 days after receipt of the claim by the carrier; Provided, however, That, if the claim cannot be processed and disposed of within 120 days after the receipt thereof, the car-rier shall at that time and at th

33、e expi-ration of each succeeding 60-day period while the claim remains pending, ad-vise the claimant in writing or elec-tronically of the status of the claim and the reason for the delay in making final disposition thereof and it shall re-tain a copy of such advice to the claim-ant in its claim file

34、 thereon. (b) When settling a claim for loss or damage, a common carrier by motor vehicle of household goods as defined in 375.1(b)(1) of this chapter shall use the replacement costs of the lost or damaged item as a base to apply a de-preciation factor to arrive at the cur-rent actual value of the l

35、ost or dam-aged item: Provided, That where an item cannot be replaced or no suitable replacement is obtainable, the proper measure of damages shall be the origi-nal costs, augmented by a factor de-rived from a consumer price index, and adjusted downward by a factor depre-ciation over average useful

36、life. 370.11 Processing of salvage. (a) Whenever baggage or material, goods, or other property transported by a carrier subject to the provisions in this part is damaged or alleged to be damaged and is, as a consequence thereof, not delivered or is rejected or refused upon tender thereof to the owne

37、r, consignee, or person entitled to receive such property, the carrier, after giving due notice, whenever prac-ticable to do so, to the owner and other parties that may have an interest therein, and unless advised to the con-trary after giving such notice, shall un-dertake to sell or dispose of such

38、 prop-erty directly or by the employment of a competent salvage agent. The carrier shall only dispose of the property in a manner that will fairly and equally protect the best interests of all persons having an interest therein. The carrier shall make an itemized record suffi-cient to identify the p

39、roperty involved so as to be able to correlate it to the shipment or transportation involved, and claim, if any, filed thereon. The carrier also shall assign to each lot of such property a successive lot number and note that lot number on its record of shipment and claim, if any claim is filed there

40、on. (b) Whenever disposition of salvage material or goods shall be made di-rectly to an agent or employee of a car-rier or through a salvage agent or com-pany in which the carrier or one or more of its directors, officers, or man-agers has any interest, financial or otherwise, that carriers salvage

41、records shall fully reflect the particu-lars of each such transaction or rela-tionship, or both, as the case may be. (c) Upon receipt of a claim on a ship-ment on which salvage has been proc-essed in the manner prescribed in this section, the carrier shall record in its claim file thereon the lot nu

42、mber as-signed, the amount of money recov-ered, if any, from the disposition of such property, and the date of trans-mittal of such money to the person or persons lawfully entitled to receive the same. PART 371BROKERS OF PROPERTY Sec. 371.1 Applicability. 371.2 Definitions. 371.3 Records to be kept

43、by brokers. 371.7 Misrepresentation. 371.9 Rebating and compensation. 371.10 Duties and obligations of brokers. 371.13 Accounting. AUTHORITY: 49 U.S.C. 13301, 13501, and 14122; and 49 CFR 1.73. SOURCE: 45 FR 68942, Oct. 17, 1980, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 61 FR 54707, Oct. 21, 1996. VerDate Mar2010 08:20 Dec 16, 2010 Jkt 220216 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:SGML220216.XXX 220216jdjones on DSK8KYBLC1PROD with CFRProvided by IHSNot for ResaleNo reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS-,-,-