Damages lawsuit over delivery of cargo in international ocean shipping against a forged bill of lading

Cargo exported to Panama by a Korean exporter was delivered to a consignee who presented a forged bill of lading, and the exporter sued the freight forwarder and the Korean shipping agent of a foreign shipping line for damages.

Attorney Jaehoon Lee represented the Korean shipping agent of the foreign shipping line in the damages lawsuit.

The key issues were whether the Korean shipping agent was liable as a party to the contract of carriage by sea, and whether liability for the release of the cargo by the local agent in Panama could also be attributed to the Korean agent.

Also at issue were the legal effect of delivering the cargo to a consignee who presented a forged bill of lading and whether doing so was negligent, and whether the international jurisdiction agreement and the carrier's limitation of liability clause under the bill of lading applied.

Attorney Lee analyzed the bill of lading, the shipping agency agreement, emails among the parties involved in the shipment, and the circumstances of the cargo's release, and argued that the party to the contract of carriage was the foreign shipping line and not the Korean shipping agent.

In particular, he distinguished the legal status and scope of duties of the agent at the Korean port of loading from those of the agent at the port of discharge in Panama, and argued that the Korean agent, which had no involvement in the local release of the cargo, could not be held liable for damages.

In addition, he examined the appearance of the forged bill of lading and the usual cargo release procedures to contest whether the local agent had been negligent, and presented legal arguments on the international jurisdiction agreement and the limitation of liability clause in the bill of lading.