Judgement of the Central Intellectual Property
and International Trade Court

The clause stipulated in the insurance policy that First World Intertrade Co., the buyer, has to claim damages from the carrier promptly at the time when knowing about the damage before the insurer takes action to compensate the injured party, the buyer, according to the policy. When the buyer fails to act in accordance to that policy, the defendant contended that the plaintiff, insurer, will be vitiated from obligation to pay damages to the buyer and then has no ground to subrogate the buyer and claimed the defendant, carrier, damages. The court found that this was not a limitation clause because nothing in this clause was mentioned on limitation of the insurer. This clause was only the regulation on procedural steps before the injured party should initiate entitlement of claim to the insurer. Therefore, the plaintiff as insurer after paying the money according to the insurance policy, was entitled to subrogate the injured party and took action to the defendant.

The shipper in Italy instructed Cape P&C Co. to arrange for carriage of goods to Thailand. Cape P&C assigned Combimar E Co. to send those goods. Combimar E Co. consequently entered into another contract with the first defendant to ship the goods to Thailand. In this carriage of goods, Cape P&C Co. issued the bill of lading (exhibit no. P.9) to the shipper. That bill of lading stated that the shipment of goods was not accommodated with containers. However, another bill of lading (exhibit no. P.17) which the first defendant provided to Combimar E Co. marked that the shipping is CY/CY type and stipulated that “Shipper’s load stow and count”. The fact was revealed that one of carriers, not the shipper, in this shipment became the one who arranged the goods in the containers. The first defendant, therefore, could not refuse liability on the argument when there was damage of goods that it issued claused bill of lading and the bill of lading was CY/CY type . The first defendant was obligated to the shipper, the consignee and the plaintiff, insurer, under the bill of lading (exhibit no.9) which Cape P&C issued to the shipper.