Inland Cargo Liability for Overseas Export Shipments in the Wake of Regal-Beloit

The Supreme Court of the United States in Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha LTD v. Regal-Beloit Corp., 561 U.S. 89, 100 (2010), held that the Carmack Amendment does not apply to import cargo originating overseas carried under a through bill of lading. But the Court expressly withheld judgment on which federal law applies, Carmack or the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA), when export cargo is damaged during the inland leg of an overseas move, and, as is often the case, the through bill of lading extends the application of COGSA beyond the tackle to inland carriage, which is expressly permitted under COGSA.

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