The Joint and Several Liability of 'Merchants' Under Maritime Bills of Lading

摘要

Merchant clauses assigning joint and several liability for affirmative obligations owed to carriers are now ubiquitous in contemporary maritime bills of lading. Recent case law responding to a variety of arguments raised by defendants sued under such clauses provides much-needed guidance regarding their enforceability. While these arguments have required extended analysis of complicated commercial arrangements, nuanced contract and agency law principles, and maritime law statutes, the current state of the law appears to favor enforcement of Merchant clauses, so long as the defendant being sued under the bill of lading is actually bound by its terms.