Alcoa Steamship Co. v. United States

Background

A commercial ship, the S. S. Gunvor, carried a government shipment of lumber from Mobile, Alabama, to Trinidad and was torpedoed and lost on its first day out. The carrier surrendered the bill of lading and the War Department initially paid the freight, but the Comptroller General later disallowed the payment and offset the amount. The carrier sued under the Tucker Act to recover the freight; lower courts disagreed, and the case reached this Court to resolve many similar pending claims.

Reasoning

The narrow question was whether a carrier’s usual clause saying freight is due “lost or not lost” survives the government’s standard bill of lading and voucher rules. The Court looked only to the written contract. It found that the government bill required a “properly accomplished” bill of lading and submission of an authorized voucher. The voucher’s instructions expressly stated payment would be made only for stores delivered at destination. Because those written conditions contemplated actual delivery, the Court held the government terms inconsistent with the carrier’s all‑risk freight clause and refused recovery of freight on the lost government cargo.

Real world impact

The decision means carriers cannot rely on their usual “lost or not lost” freight clause when transporting public property under the government’s standard forms. Carriers seeking freight for undelivered government shipments must meet the bill and voucher conditions that require delivery. The ruling settles a broad set of similar claims and affects how carriers and government agencies handle future loss and payment disputes.

Dissents or concurrances

Two Justices dissented and rested their objections on the opinion of Judge Augustus N. Hand as noted in the Court’s opinion; the Court’s opinion does not detail their separate reasoning.