1. Parties: As used in these Conditions of Contract, the “Company” shall mean Javelin Logistics Company, Inc., and its owners, shareholders, officers, directors, employees, contractors, and their respective authorized agents. “Shipment” shall mean the materials tendered for carriage or for storage by the Company. “Customer” shall mean the party designated as the Billing Party on the Company’s freight bill or any other cartage document (“Freight Bill”) or Storage Invoice, which are incorporated herein by this reference. These Conditions of Contract and the Freight Bill shall collectively constitute this “Contract”.
2. General Liability: Carriage and other services performed under this Contract are subject to the conditions provided herein and to the rates, rules and classifications set forth in the Company’s rate tariffs, which are available for inspection and incorporated into this Contract by reference.
3. Customer’s Packaging: In tendering the Shipment for carriage or storage, the Customer warrants that the Shipment is packaged to protect the enclosed goods and to ensure safe transportation with ordinary care in handling and that the Shipment is appropriately labeled and is in good order for storage or carriage as specified.
4. Inspection of Shipment: All Shipments may, at the Company’s discretion, or as required by any regulatory, administrative, or governmental authority, be opened and inspected.
5. Dangerous Goods: Customer warrants and represents that in the event any Shipment contains Dangerous Goods, as defined by the International Air Transport Association (“IATA”), such Dangerous Goods are properly classified and described by name, and is in proper condition for carriage by air according to the applicable IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. Customer shall indemnify the Company against all loss and damage caused by any Shipment, including without limitation any Shipment containing Dangerous Goods for which advance notice was not provided to the Company.
6. Limitation of Liability: The Company shall not be liable for loss, damage, delay or other results caused by: (a) acts of God, public enemies, public authorities acting with actual or apparent authority, authority of law, quarantine, riots, strikes, civil commotions, terrorism, or hazards or dangers incident to a state of war; (b) an act or default of Customer or the consignee, including any breach of the warranty set forth in Paragraph 3 above; (c) the nature of the Shipment or any defect, characteristic, or inherent vice thereof; (d) violation by Customer or the consignee of these conditions of contract; and (e) compliance or non-compliance with delivery of Shipments requiring special instructions. The Company shall not be liable for special, consequential, or punitive damages.
7. Limitation of Damages: Customer, on behalf of itself and any other party having an interest the Shipment, agrees that unless a declared value is specified in writing by the Customer prior to the initiation services by the Company, the limit of the Company’s liability hereunder shall be the greater of:
(a) The Customer’s declared value stated on the Freight Bill for the lost or damaged piece. In no event greater than $50,000 for any single shipment, in the absence of a written agreement signed by an officer of Javelin Logistics Company, Inc. or;
(b) $0.50 per pound multiplied by the weight of the lost or damaged piece, but in no event to exceed the amount of the loss or damage actually sustained.
8. Insurance Protection Option: Customer hereby acknowledges that the rates for the services do not include insurance coverage, and Customer acknowledges that prior to the initiation of services by the Company, the Customer has an option to purchase insurance through the Company for the Customer’s Shipment.
9. Customer’s Liability: Customer shall be liable: (a) for all unpaid charges payable on account of a Shipment pursuant to this Contract; and (b) to pay or indemnify the Company for all claims, lines, penalties, damages, costs or other sums which may be incurred by the Company by reason of any violation of this Contract or any other default of Customer including its owners, officers, directors, employees, contractors and their respective agents.
10. General Lien for Charges: The Company has a general lien on any and all property now or subsequently delivered to or otherwise in care of the Company by Customer for the following:
(a) all charges for transportation, storage, preservation of the property, and the performance of other services;
(b) all lawful claims for money advanced, interest, insurance, labor, weighing, and other charges in relation to the listed property;
(c) all charges and expenses for notice and advertisement of sale and for sale of the property when there has been a default in satisfying the Company’s lien; and
(d) all court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in collecting these charges and enforcing its lien, or defending itself in the event that it is made a party to any litigation concerning the listed property.
The Company may bring suit for delinquent payments without first foreclosing its lien.
11. Failure of Delivery: In the event of the failure or inability of the consignee to take delivery of the Shipment, the Company will notify Customer in writing and request disposition instructions. If Customer fails to provide disposition instructions within thirty (30) days after the date of the Company’s notice, the Company will return the Shipment to Customer at Customer’s expense. If Customer fails to accept delivery of a Shipment thus returned, the Company may, upon ninety (90) days written notice to Customer, dispose of the Shipment at public or private sale and pay itself out of the proceeds to satisfy the transportation charges owing on the Shipment.
12. Transport Conditions: The Company will exercise due diligence in routing Shipments. In the absence of specific contrary instructions by Customer on the Freight Bill, the Company may divert any Shipment to surface to surface transportation in order to facilitate its movement. Regardless of the method of transportation employed, the Company’s rate tariff charges from origin to destination will apply.
13. Claim Procedure. Customer, on behalf of itself and any consignee, agrees to follow and abide by the Company’s Claim Procedure as follows:
(a) Claims for loss or damage discovered by the consignee after delivery and after a clear receipt has been given to the Company must be reported in writing to the Company within fourteen (14) days after delivery of the Shipment.
(b) All other claims for loss or damage must be submitted in writing to the Company within one (1) year after delivery of the shipment.
(c) Customer shall cause the consignee to allow the Company to inspect the Shipment, its container(s), and packing material within fifteen (15) days after receipt of such notice.
(d) No claim shall be evaluated by the Company until all charges have been paid.
(e) Claims for overcharges or duplicate billings must be made in writing within a period of 270 days after the date of acceptance of a transport Shipment by the Company, or within 180 days of the date of invoice to Customer for warehousing.
(f) The Company shall not be liable in any action unless a written claim has been filed by Customer and such action is brought within two (2) years after the date written notice is given to Customer that Company has disallowed the claim in full or in part.
CUSTOMER, ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND ANY CONSIGNEE, HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT NO CLAIM MAY BE MADE AGAINST THE COMPANY IN THE EVENT CUSTOMER FAILS TO ABIDE BY THE ABOVE DESCRIBED CLAIM PROCEDURE.
14. Governing Law. To the extent that this Contract is not governed by federal law, this Contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California without regard to its choice of law rules. The parties agree to settle disputes by mediation administered by the American Arbitration Association. If unsuccessful, the parties agree to binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association as the binding, ultimate and final decision. The parties will share mediation and arbitration fees equally. However, the mediator or arbitrator, in his or her absolute discretion, may award costs and attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party of any mediation and/or arbitration.
15. Arbitration: The parties agree to settle any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to this Contract by binding arbitration in San Francisco, California under the rules of the American Arbitration Association then existing, before one neutral arbitrator. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction under the provisions of the California Arbitration Act.
16. Fees: In any arbitration, litigation or other proceeding by which one party either seeks to enforce its rights under this Contract (whether in contract, tort or both) or seeks a declaration of any rights or obligations under this Contract, the prevailing party will be awarded reasonable attorney fees, together with any costs and expenses (including, but not limited to, Company's costs and expenses incurred for collecting amounts due from Customer, its consignee, or any other party designated by Customer as responsible for payment of any invoice and, if applicable, the prevailing party's fees and expenses of arbitration), to resolve the dispute and to enforce the final judgement.
17. International Shipping: International air carriage is subject to the rules and regulations established by the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, signed at Warsaw, October 12, 1929, or the Montreal Convention of 1999, whichever is applicable.
18. Payment: All charges are due and payable thirty (30) days from the date reflected on the invoice unless otherwise specified in writing and signed by the Company. Any payment which is past due shall be subject to an additional charge at a rate of three percent (3%) per month of the outstanding balance due, or the highest rate of interest permitted by applicable law.
19. Severability: If any provision of this Contract is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed from this Contract remainder of the Contract shall not be affected thereby.
20. Entire Agreement: Except as provided by separate mutual written agreement between the parties, this Contract constitutes the entire agreement between the parties.