§80106 Transfer Without Negotiation

Summary

A holder of a bill of lading can transfer it simply by handing it over and agreeing to give title to the bill or the goods. The person who receives it then has title to the goods against the person who transferred it, unless they agreed otherwise. If the bill is negotiable and was handed over for value but needs the transferor’s endorsement to be negotiated, the new holder can force the transferor to sign unless the parties meant otherwise. For a nonnegotiable bill, once the new holder notifies the carrier, the carrier must deal directly with that holder for obligations owed to the prior holder before notice. But before notice, the new holder’s rights can be lost if a creditor seizes the goods by legal process (garnishment, attachment, or execution) or if the carrier is told that someone else later bought the goods. A carrier is only treated as notified when an officer or agent who can act on the notice has been told and has had reasonable time to tell the person in control of the goods.