BNUMBER:  B-261308
DATE:  November 9, 1995
TITLE:  Allied Intermodel Forwarding, Inc.-Claim for
Reimbursement of Amounts Collected by Setoff for Loss of
Household Goods

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Matter of:Allied Intermodel Forwarding, Inc.-Claim for Reimbursement 
          of Amounts Collected by Setoff for Loss of Household Goods

File:     B-261308

Date:     November 9, 1995

DIGEST

When a case of prima facie liability has been established with regard 
to a shipment of household goods, the carrier is liable unless he 
presents sufficient evidence to rebut the liability.

DECISION

This is in response to an appeal of a Claims Group settlement which 
denied the claim of Resource Protection on behalf of Allied Intermodel 
Forwarding, Inc., (Allied) for reimbursement of amounts collected by 
setoff for loss of items in a shipment of household goods.  We affirm 
the Claims Group's settlement.

The household goods of Sergeant First Class James D. Dominick, USA 
(Retired), were picked up in Tacoma, Washington, on March 4, 1992, and 
were delivered to Port Huron, Michigan, on May 21, 1992.  Form 1840, 
completed at delivery, indicates that a lawn mower, 2 trash cans, and 
10 mini-blinds were missing.  The shipper later discovered that many 
items from other boxes were missing, including the entire contents of 
some boxes.  The missing items were listed on form 1840R along with 
other items which were damaged.  The Army made a demand on Allied in 
the amount of $5,680, which was later reduced to $5,476.  The latter 
amount was collected from Allied by setoff.  Resource Protection now 
claims $4,043.28 of that amount on behalf of Allied.

In an unrelated transaction Sergeant Dominick put some of his 
household goods into storage in July 1993, with the same company which 
had handled them before.  Personnel there observed that the stored 
items included a lawn mower, mini-blinds, and cartons with the same 
numbers as those on form 1840R Sergeant Dominick completed earlier.  
Resource Protection argues that this information rebuts Allied's prima 
facie liability for the missing items.

While Resource Protection argues that the items listed on form 1840R 
are cartons, the items listed on the form are specific items or groups 
of items found in the cartons.  For example, in inventory item number 
25 there were 25 nutcrackers which were lost.  Inventory item number 
195, which is listed as containing tools, appears three times because 
three tools packed in it were lost.  The fact that the boxes were 
reused is not evidence that the items packed in them during the 
military move were not lost during the military move.  Regarding the 
lawn mower and mini-blinds, the carrier's agent signed form 1840 
indicating that the items were missing at delivery, and Resource 
Protection has presented no evidence that the lawn mower and 
mini-blinds stored were the same ones Sergeant Dominick tendered to 
Allied in 1992.  In this regard, the shipper reported that he had 
acquired another lawn mower that was placed in storage.  Similarly, 
the shipper reported he had many sets of mini-blinds and that his 
claim involved those which had been lost.

A prima facie case of carrier liability is established by a showing of 
tender of goods to the carrier, delivery in a more damaged condition, 
and the amount of damages.  Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. Elmore & 
Stahl, 377 U.S. 134 (1964).  In the present situation prima facie 
liability has been established, and Resource Protection has not 
presented evidence to rebut that liability.  Paul Arpin Van Lines, 
Inc., B-213784, May 22, 1984.

Since Resource Protection has not rebutted Allied's prima facie 
liability, we deny its reimbursement claim and affirm the Claims 
Group's settlement.

/s/Seymour Efros
for Robert P. Murphy
General Counsel