THE BOTTOM LINE
- Proof of Loss is Paramount: Acknowledging a mistake in shipping documents is not enough to trigger damages. Claimants must provide concrete proof that the error directly caused a specific, quantifiable financial loss.
- Illegal Costs Are Non-Recoverable: A Dutch court has affirmed that costs incurred through illegal activities, such as paying bribes to customs officials, cannot be claimed as damages in a civil lawsuit. Such claims are void as they violate public policy.
- Mitigation Matters: Before incurring significant costs to resolve a documentation issue, businesses should explore simpler, administrative solutions. Failing to ask the party at fault to correct their own error can weaken a subsequent damages claim.
THE DETAILS
A recent ruling from the Amsterdam District Court provides a sharp reminder for businesses involved in international logistics: proving liability is only half the battle. The case involved a company whose van was scheduled for shipment to Nigeria. The shipping agent mistakenly included the van’s details on a bill of lading for an entirely different shipment a year earlier. When the owner eventually sent the van using another logistics firm, Nigerian customs flagged the vehicle as having already been imported, creating significant clearance problems at the port.
The van’s owner sued the original shipping agent, claiming that the documentation error was an unlawful act that caused them to incur over €5,000 in extra costs. These costs were allegedly paid to a local agent in Nigeria to resolve the customs issue. The court quickly agreed with the first part of the argument: placing the van on an incorrect bill of lading was indeed an unlawful act by the shipping agent, establishing a clear breach of duty. However, the court then scrutinized the crucial link between that breach and the damages claimed.
The entire case fell apart on the issue of causation and the nature of the costs. The court found that the owner had failed to provide any solid evidence to substantiate the €5,000+ claim. The defendant argued that such a clerical error could have been corrected administratively for a fee of just €85, but they were never asked to do so. The fatal blow came during the hearing, when the claimant admitted that the agent’s fees included “bribes” paid to customs officials. The court was unequivocal: payments for bribery are contrary to public morals, legally void, and cannot form the basis of a legitimate damages claim. As the claimant could not prove any other legitimate, unavoidable costs flowing directly from the error, the entire claim was dismissed.
SOURCE
Source: Rechtbank Amsterdam
