Logistics company’s $1.8 million win against Chubb unit reversed
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The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday overturned a logistics company’s win against a Chubb Ltd. unit over damage to a pallet of rheumatoid arthritis medication while being loaded onto a plane in Dublin.
The three-judge appeals court panel ruled in Indemnity Insurance Co. of North America v. Unitrans International Corp. that evidence did not clearly establish that Unitrans is a “contracting carrier” that would be subject to protections under the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of International Carriage, known as the Montreal Convention.
The Montreal Convention preempts state law claims brought against “contracting carriers.”
Thousand Oaks, California-based drugmaker Amgen Inc. owns a facility in Dublin where Enbrel is manufactured. In July 2014, Amgen contracted with Unitrans for a shipment of the medication from its facility to a Dublin airport where it was to be flown to Philadelphia. When the shipment arrived at the Dublin airport, one of the three pallets of the drug fell and was damaged. The entire shipment was returned to Amgen’s facility, and the damaged pallet was deemed a total loss, court records show.
Chubb unit Indemnity Insurance Co. of North America paid $1.8 million to cover Amgen’s loss and sued Unitrans in New York state court in September 2016. Unitrans removed the suit to federal court, and the parties filed competing summary judgment motions.
The trial judge ruled that the insurer’s suit was filed after the Montreal Convention’s two-year statute of limitations expired.
Indemnity appealed, arguing that the Montreal Convention does not apply to Unitrans because it only arranged for the transportation of Amgen’s cargo. The appeals court panel found that while the Montreal Convention applies to contracting carriers, it was not clear if Unitrans is one.
Representatives for the parties did not respond to requests for comment.
