Title 49, TransportationRelease 119-110
§80115 Limitation on Use of Judicial Process to Obtain Possession of Goods From Common Carriers
Title 49 › SUBTITLE X — MISCELLANEOUS › CHAPTER 801 — BILLS OF LADING › § 80115
Summary
Courts can only let someone take goods from a common carrier, or force the carrier to give up the goods, when the negotiable bill of lading for those goods is handed to the carrier or the court keeps the bill so it cannot be transferred. If the bill was first issued when the person delivering the goods did not have the right to dispose of them, that rule does not apply.
Full Legal Text
Title 49, §80115
Transportation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Attachment and Levy.—
Except when a negotiable bill of lading was issued originally on delivery of goods by a person that did not have the power to dispose of the goods, goods in the possession of a common carrier for which a negotiable bill has been issued may be attached through judicial process or levied on in execution of a judgment only if the bill is surrendered to the carrier or its negotiation is enjoined.
(b)Delivery.—
A common carrier may be compelled by judicial process to deliver goods under subsection (a) of this section only when the bill is surrendered to the carrier or impounded by the court.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 80115(a)49 App.:103 (1st sentence).Aug. 29, 1916, ch. 415, § 23, 39 Stat. 542. 80115(b)49 App.:103 (last sentence). In subsection (a), the words “Except when a negotiable bill of lading was issued originally on delivery of goods by a person that did not have the power to dispose of the goods, goods . . . may be attached . . . only if” are substituted for “If goods are delivered to a carrier by the owner or by a person whose act in conveying the title to them to a purchaser for value in good faith would bind the owner . . . they can not thereafter . . . be attached . . . unless” to restate the source provision as an exception to conform to section 7–602 of the Uniform Commercial Code. The words “through judicial process” are substituted for “by garnishment or otherwise”, and the words “levied on in execution of a judgment” are substituted for “levied upon under an execution”, for clarity.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
49 U.S.C. § 80115
Title 49, Transportation
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110