Do ask and make them tell. That’s the lesson motor carriers should take away from a recent, precedent-setting court decision. The ruling centers on whether brokers have an obligation to disclose the value of cargo to be shipped. “A carrier seeking to limit its liability must ascertain the value of a load itself, either by asking the broker or by asking the shipper directly,” wrote US District Court Judge Michael Simon, in Portland, Oregon. “If a carrier accepts a load without so doing, it may not later shift to the broker the responsibility for an underinsured loss.” Judge Simon issued his ruling in late March, but it’s only now being discussed among lawyers. The case involves broker Complete Distribution Services, which contracted with trucking firm All States Transport, or AST, to transport two separate shipments of vitamins from Washington State to Florida. Without informing the broker, AST combined the two shipments into one truck. In Oregon, the truck was in an accident that damaged both shipments. CDS paid the shipper about $170,000 for the damages and then sued to recover the money. The trucking firm counter-sued. It maintained that had it known the cargo was so valuable, it wouldn’t have combined the two orders and because it wasn’t informed of the value of the contents, the broker was responsible for the loss. The judge wasn’t swayed. “The court declines to impose on brokers a duty to inform carriers of the value of the load,” Judge Simon wrote. The decision builds on two other cases, usually referred to as KLS Air Express and Chubb Group of Insurance Cos. In those decisions, judges ruled that a broker isn’t obliged to hire a carrier with adequate insurance coverage. The responsibility falls to the carrier to hold insurance or risk the consequences. The March ruling provides added clarity to the legal relationship between broker and carrier, said Katherine Garber, a Houston-based litigation attorney who specializes in energy and transportation. That’s important, she said, because brokers often won’t allow carriers to contact the shipper directly. “If you, as a motor carrier, want to limit liability or be adequately insured, it’s incumbent on you to determine value,” she said. Garber wasn’t involved in the suit, but has written on it. While the decision focuses specifically on motor transport, it may well make an impact on other forms of transportation. In this age of intermodal transport, a single bill of lading is often used with goods first shipped by road, but then transferred to rail or ship. The ruling falls within part of the Interstate Commerce Act called the Carmack Amendment. That law holds carriers generally liable for damages of goods being carried, but gives carriers the ability to limit losses to $100,000 per individual shipment.