Indem. Ins. Co. of N. Am. v. Agility Logistics Corp.
Indem. Ins. Co. of N. Am. v. Agility Logistics Corp.
Opinion of the Court
The Montreal Convention imposes liability on air carriers for "destruction ... of ... cargo," "loss of ... cargo," or "damage to ... cargo." In this case, a carrier transported a jet engine on the wrong type of truck. That mistake required the recipient to do a costly inspection, which ultimately revealed no transport-related damage. This raises the novel question of whether the Montreal Convention allows recovery of inspection costs even though there was no physical damage to any cargo. For the reasons that follow, the answer is no.
I. Background
Plaintiff Indemnity Insurance Company of North America is an insurance company. Defendant Agility Logistics Corp. is a shipping company.
This suit concerns a jet engine shipped from Florida to Germany. GE Capital Aviation Services arranged for Agility to transport the engine, which GE Capital had just refurbished. Agility does not ship anything itself; rather, it arranges shipment with various carriers along the shipping route. (Dkt. No. 45 ¶ 71.) The parties dispute who exactly contracted with whom, but the basic chronology is as follows:
• GE Capital sends an "engine shipment request" to Agility, asking for the engine to be shipped from a company called LCI in Tamarac, Florida, to Lufthansa Technic in Alzey, Germany. (Dkt. No. 29-2.)
• Agility sends a "spot quote" to GE Capital, listing LCI as the "shipper of record" and Lufthansa Technik as the recipient/consignee. (Dkt. No. 29-3.)
• The engine begins its journey. The air waybill exhorts: "All ground transportation must be full air ride." (Dkt. No. 29-6.) This means that every axle of the truck must have an air-ride suspension.
• The engine arrives safely in Frankfurt Airport. (Dkt. No. 45 ¶ 9.)
• The engine is loaded onto a tractor-trailer in Frankfurt Airport. The tractor-trailer is arranged by Agility's German affiliate, Agility Germany. (Dkt. No. 45 ¶ 12.) But while the trailer has an air-ride suspension, the tractor does not. (Dkt. No. 45 ¶ 16.)
• The engine arrives in Alzey. Lufthansa Technik is not pleased.
• Lufthansa Technik takes apart the engine to check for transport-related defects. The inspection turns up several defects unrelated to transport. There is no evidence that improper transport caused any damage. (Dkt. No. 45 ¶¶ 19-20.)
• Lufthansa Technik bills GE Capital $177,450.07 for the inspection cost. (Dkt. No. 45 ¶ 21; Dkt. No. 29-12 at 1.)
• Indemnity-GE Capital's insurer-pays GE Capital $127,450.07 for the inspection bill. (Dkt. No. 29-13.)
• Indemnity sues Agility for the inspection costs.
Indemnity asserts subject matter jurisdiction under
II. Legal Standard
Summary judgment is appropriate where "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A fact is material if it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. ,
III. Discussion
The 1999 Montreal Convention applies to all "international carriage by air of persons, baggage or cargo performed by aircraft for reward." Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage, May 28, 1999 ("Montreal Convention") art. 1 ¶ 1, reprinted in S. Treaty Doc. No. 106-45,
There are three issues before the Court: (1) whether the Court has subject matter jurisdiction under the Montreal Convention, (2) whether Agility has standing to sue in GE Capital's shoes, and (3) whether the Montreal Convention imposes liability for inspection cost even if there is no physical damage. Each is discussed in turn.
A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction
The Montreal Convention imposes liability on air carriers only if "the damage ... sustained took place during the carriage by air." Montreal Convention art. 18 ¶ 1. The Second Circuit has held that "carriage by air" includes things that happen inside the airport, but that the Convention "draws the line at the airport's border." Victoria Sales Corp. v. Emery Air Freight, Inc. ,
Since the answer to this question is intertwined with the merits, it is best to assume-for now-that the event which caused the alleged damage occurred at Frankfurt Airport. Subject matter jurisdiction, *404like the merits of the case, turns on whether Article 18 covers the type of loss that Indemnity suffered-inspection cost of undamaged cargo. If the inspection cost is a cognizable harm under Article 18, then the event which caused the damage arguably occurred when the engine was loaded onto an improper truck while in Frankfurt Airport. And since that event happened within the airport borders, the Montreal Convention might apply. See Victoria Sales ,
B. Standing
Agility next argues that Indemnity lacks standing to sue in GE Capital's shoes. Agility contends that only the consignor and consignee (i.e. , the shipper and recipient) can sue under the Montreal Convention. The air waybill names LCI as the shipper and Lufthansa Technik as the consignee. Thus, according to Agility, neither GE Capital nor its insurer has standing to sue.
This question is really two questions: (1) whether GE Capital can sue even though it is not named on the air waybill, and (2) if so, whether Indemnity can sue in GE Capital's shoes.
Both questions are answered by the Second Circuit's opinion in Commercial Union Insurance. Co. v. Alitalia Airlines, S.p.A. ,
Thus, the key issue as to the first question is whether GE Capital had a legal relationship with Agility making GE Capital the real party in interest. See
The second question has a more straightforward answer: if GE Capital can sue, so can its insurer. "Plaintiff, as an insurer subrogee of [a party to the shipping agreement], accedes to all the rights that its insured would have were it to have brought the instant suit." Commercial Union ,
C. Does the Montreal Convention Cover Inspection Costs in the Absence of Actual Harm?
Having cleared the jurisdictional hurdles, there is one final obstacle for Indemnity: the Montreal Convention allows recovery only for "destruction," "loss," or "damage" to cargo, but says nothing about inspection cost of undamaged cargo.
The two key facts are not subject to a genuine dispute: (1) the engine was improperly transported, but (2) the improper transport did not damage the engine.
If this were a regular contract case, this question would be easy. If A breaches a contract with B, and B incurs inspection costs as a result of the breach, B can usually recover the inspection costs as incidental damages. See, e.g. ,
The text
The carrier is liable for damage sustained in the event of the destruction or loss of, or damage to, cargo upon condition only that the event which caused the damage so sustained took place during the carriage by air.
Montreal Convention, art. 18 ¶ 1.
This provision clearly delineates three types of events that trigger liability:
(1) "destruction ... of ... cargo";
(2) "loss of ... cargo"; and
(3) "damage to ... cargo."
None of the three categories applies here. The engine was not damaged, destroyed, or lost. And though it is a harsh result, the Convention's plain text bars recovery.
Because this result is harsh, the Court invited supplemental briefing on this issue. Indemnity points to a handful of cases awarding inspection costs, but in all of those cases, the cargo was actually damaged. (See Dkt. No. 51 at 1-2.) It is one thing to say that a carrier is liable for the inspection cost of damaged cargo. It is quite another to say that a carrier is liable for inspection costs even when the cargo was not damaged. Once the cargo is damaged, destroyed, or lost, the carrier is arguably liable for inspection costs; but if the cargo is not damaged, destroyed, or lost, Article 18 imposes no liability.
This distinction is bolstered by the case law on Article 17, which deals with injury to airline passengers. It states that:
*406The carrier is liable for damage sustained in case of death or bodily injury of a passenger upon condition only that the accident which caused the death or injury took place on board the aircraft or in the course of any of the operations of embarking or disembarking.
Montreal Convention art. 17 ¶ 1.
The courts have imposed a clear prerequisite of bodily harm under Article 17. In Eastern Airlines, Inc. v. Floyd , the Supreme Court held that "an air carrier cannot be held liable under Article 17 when an accident has not caused a passenger to suffer death, physical injury, or physical manifestation of injury."
These Article 17 cases can be analogized to Article 18 cases. Both provisions allow recovery for "damage" caused by specific events: Article 17 imposes liability "for damage sustained in case of death or bodily injury of a passenger"; Article 18 imposes liability "for damage sustained in the event of the destruction or loss of, or damage to, cargo." Like Article 17, which precludes recovery for non-bodily injury unless it was caused by an underlying bodily injury, Article 18 precludes recovery for inspection cost unless it was caused by physical destruction, loss, or damage to the cargo.
In sum, the Montreal Convention does not allow recovery if the sole harm was the cost of inspection. And because of the Convention's broad preemptive effect, Indemnity must either recover under the Convention or not recover at all. See Magan v. Lufthansa German Airlines ,
This result is admittedly discomfiting. Agility failed to transport the engine properly, and Lufthansa Technik did the right thing by checking that the engine was safe to use. The rule applied here is arguably absurd: if the inspection reveals no damage, the carrier owes nothing; if the inspection reveals one loose screw, the carrier might be liable for the entire inspection bill. But there is no way around the Convention's clear text.
IV. Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, Defendant's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED, and Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment is DENIED. Judgment shall be entered accordingly.
The Clerk of Court is directed to close the motions at Docket Numbers 16 and 27 and to close this case.
SO ORDERED.
Although Agility's expert noted that one of the bearings was damaged, he reported that "the damage was not transport-related but was rather the result of operational wear and tear." (Dkt. No. 19-7 at 12.) That expert also concluded that "[n]o transport-related damage could be ascertained." (Id. )
While the Warsaw Convention's original language is French, and thus all textual interpretation must begin with the French text, the Montreal Convention has several original languages, including English, all of which are equally authentic. Ehrlich ,
Indemnity points to Article 29, but that provision deals with limitations to liability and does not create an independent basis for liability.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- INDEMNITY INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA v. AGILITY LOGISTICS CORPORATION
- Status
- Published