§ 199 — Liability for damage to property in transit

§ 199. Liability for damage to property in transit. Every common\ncarrier of household goods by motor vehicle shall, upon demand, issue a\nbill of lading for all property delivered to it for transportation. No\ncontract, stipulation or clause in any bill of lading shall exempt any\ncommon carrier of household goods by motor vehicle from any liability\nfor loss, damage or injury caused by it to property from the time of its\ndelivery for transportation until the same shall have been received at\nits destination and a reasonable time shall have elapsed after notice to\nthe shipper of such arrival to permit the removal and inspection of such\nproperty; provided, however, that a carrier may limit such liability to\nthe value declared in writing by the shipper or agreed upon in writing\nby the carrier and the shipper as the released value of the property, in\nwhich case such declaration or agreement shall have no other effect than\nto limit liability and recovery to an amount not exceeding the value so\ndeclared or released and shall not, so far as relates to values, be held\nto violate this article. Every common carrier of household goods by\nmotor vehicle shall be liable for all loss, damage or injury to property\ncaused by delay in transit due to negligence while the same is being\ncarried by it, but in any action to recover for damages sustained by\ndelay in transit the burden of proof shall be upon the defendant to show\nthat such delay was not due to negligence. Nothing in this section shall\ndeprive any holder of such bill of lading of any remedy or right of\naction which such holder has under existing law.\n