§80106 Transfer Without Negotiation

Summary

A person who holds a bill of lading can hand it to someone else and agree to give them ownership of the bill or the goods. If they make that agreement, the new holder has title against the person who transferred it. If the bill is negotiable and needs the old holder’s signature to be fully transferred, the new holder can force the old holder to sign unless the parties clearly meant otherwise. The transfer is complete when the signature is made. If the new holder tells the carrier that a nonnegotiable bill was transferred, the carrier must deal directly with the new holder for duties the carrier owed the old holder right before the notice. But before the carrier gets that notice, the new holder’s title or right to the carrier’s duties can be lost if a creditor seizes the goods or if the transferor or someone who later bought the goods tells the carrier about a later sale. Notice counts only if a carrier officer or agent who can act on such notices is told and that person has had time, using reasonable care, to inform whoever actually has the goods.