BNUMBER:  B-265682
DATE:  February 20, 1996
TITLE:  [Letter]

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B-265682

February 20, 1996

Bobby L. Cates
Resource Protection
P.O. Box 3417
Tampa, FL  33601-3417

Dear Mr. Cates:

This is in response to your letter of July 28, 1995, appealing 
settlement No. Z-151685(92) denying your requested reimbursement of 
$691 collected by the United States Army from Allied Intermodal 
Forwarders, Inc., for loss/damage to a shipment of household goods of 
Richard Spears, which moved under GBL #SP-336,288.

Allied picked up the shipment from nontemporary storage in Denver, 
Colorado, on July 1, 1992.  At that time the shipment had been in 
storage for 11 years.  When the shipment was delivered to 
Fayetteville, Pennsylvania, the member noted that several tools were 
missing.  The claim was settled by the Army which setoff $691 from 
funds otherwise due Allied.

When the household goods were picked up at the storage facility, the 
original inventory was not available.  Allied's driver prepared a new 
inventory of the items tendered to it and the inventory was signed by 
the warehouseman.  According to Allied the warehouseman indicated that 
there had been a partial delivery out of storage sometime during the 
11-year period because the original storage shipment was reduced in 
size.

You contend that the preparation of the new inventory was the only 
action available to the Allied driver and since delivery was made of 
all items tendered to Allied, there should be no liability for the 
missing items.

We disagree.  As the Army points out in its administrative report, 
when it became apparent that the original inventory was not at the 
warehouse, the driver should have contacted the agency to ascertain if 
it had a copy of the original inventory or to obtain instructions as 
to how the agency wanted the matter handled.  By drawing up its own 
inventory on the shipment and failing to consult with the Army when it 
was aware that the shipment had been in storage for such a long period 
of time and that a partial shipment out of storage had allegedly been 
made, Allied assumed the risk of any missing items from the original 
inventory.[1]  See Caisson Forwarding Company, Inc., B-256686, Nov. 7, 
1994, where carrier failed to obtain a legible copy of inventory as 
required by Tender of Service and was liable for not taking exception 
to missing item.

Further, you argue that Allied's actions were proper in view of the 
fact that it could have been suspended under the agency's "Total 
Quality Assurance Program" for 30 days for turning back a shipment 
with less than 5 days' notice from the pickup date.  We do not believe 
it would be reasonable to conclude that Allied would have been 
suspended.  Here, through no fault of the carrier, the records 
necessary to properly take the shipment out of storage were not 
available.

Finally, you contend that the items should have been depreciated for 
the 11 years they spent in storage.  It is true that the Army was 
obligated to consider the possibility of depreciation of these items 
during nontemporary storage.  Forgarty Van Lines, B-248982, Aug. 16, 
1993.  The record shows that the agency in fact did so.  For example, 
one of the missing tools, a maul, was not depreciated because without 
use it would not deteriorate while a missing chain saw, which has 
parts which can deteriorate without oiling and proper care, was 
depreciated by 25 percent of the replacement cost.  We find that the 
agency acted properly by considering the nature of the items and the 
fact that items were not subject to use in its depreciation analysis.

We affirm the Claims Group settlement.

Sincerely yours,

/s/Lowell Dodge
for Robert P. Murphy
General Counsel 
B-265682
February 20, 1996
DIGEST

Carrier, which picked up shipment of household goods which had been in 
nontemporary storage for 11 years and wrote a new inventory for the 
shipment when original inventory was not furnished by warehouseman, is 
liable for items missing from original shipment, especially in view of 
the fact that there had been a shipment out of storage at some time 
earlier.  Carrier should have contacted service, which had copy of 
original inventory, to obtain instructions as to proper course of 
action.

1. The Army was subsequently able to locate the original inventory.  
It included all of the missing items.