Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. v. Regal-Beloit Corp. (2009)
- Docket
- 08-1553
- Decided
- 2009-01-01
Summary
Question: Does the Carmack Amendment apply to the inland leg of an international shipment? Conclusion: No. The Supreme Court held that because the Carmack Amendment does not apply to a shipment originating overseas under a single through bill of lading, the parties' agreement to litigate these cases in Tokyo, Japan is binding. With Anthony M. Kennedy writing for the majority, the Court reasoned that, as illustrated in Norfolk Southern R. Co. v. James N. Kirby , when a a bill of lading requires "substantial carriage of goods by sea," like in this case, "its purpose is to effectuate maritime commerce." Under such circumstances, applying state law undermines maritime law. Therefore, the Carmack Amendment is inapplicable to this case. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, dissented. She argued that the Carmack Amendment applies to circumstances like at issue in this case unless the parties have contracted around Carmack's requirements. Here, she viewed the Carmack Amendment as providing the default legal regime for rail transportation in the United States and, consequently, would have reached the issue as to whether Union Pacific, one of the paties, was free to opt out of Carmack.