Printable Format84-7-303. Diversion; reconsignment; change of instructions. (a) Unless the bill of lading otherwise provides, a carrier may deliver the goods to a person or destination other than that stated in the bill or may otherwise dispose of the goods, without liability for misdelivery, on instructions from:
(1) The holder of a negotiable bill;
(2) the consignor on a nonnegotiable bill, even if the consignee has given contrary instructions;
(3) the consignee on a nonnegotiable bill in the absence of contrary instructions from the consignor, if the goods have arrived at the billed destination or if the consignee is in possession of the tangible bill or in control of the electronic bill; or
(4) the consignee on a nonnegotiable bill, if the consignee is entitled as against the consignor to dispose of the goods.
(b) Unless instructions described in subsection (a) are included in a negotiable bill of lading, a person to which the bill is duly negotiated may hold the bailee according to the original terms.
History: L. 2007, ch. 90, § 19; July 1, 2008.
KANSAS COMMENT, 1996
Subsection (1) protects the carrier who honors orders for the diversion or reconsignment of the goods from authorized persons. This section speaks only to the relationship between the shipper and the carrier; the rights of the shipper as seller and the consignee as buyer are dealt with in Article 2, especially 84-2-705 on the seller's right of stoppage in transit. This section (84-7-303) is permissive, and when the carrier obeys an order for diversion it is protected from liability for failure to deliver the goods according to the document. See 84-7-403(1)(e).
Paragraph (1)(a) of this subsection applies when there is a negotiable bill of lading covering the goods. Subsection (2) protects subsequent purchasers if a diversion is not noted on a negotiable bill. If the carrier wishes to make the diversion binding on subsequent transferees of a negotiable bill, it should have the diversion noted on the bill itself.
Paragraphs (1)(b), (c) and (d) apply when there is a nonnegotiable bill of lading covering the goods. For an illustration of the operation of these provisions, see Clock v. Missouri-Kansas-Texas R. Co., 407 F.Supp. 448 (E.D. Mo. 1976).
Revisor's Note:
Former section 84-7-303 repealed by L. 2007, ch. 90, § 78 and the number reassigned to the current text.