Federal Bills of Lading Act (Pomerene Act)

Enacted August 29, 1916 and recodified in 1994 at 49 U.S.C. 80101 and following sections, the Act applies to bills issued for transportation between states and from the United States to foreign countries. It defines negotiable (order) and nonnegotiable (straight) bills, makes carriers liable for delivering goods to the wrong person, sets rules for transfer by endorsement, and imposes liability for misdescribed goods, though carriers may note shipper load and count. Falsifying or fraudulently negotiating a bill is a federal crime.

The Act defines the legal weight of the bills of lading that move freight between warehouses and buyers. It decides who can claim goods, when a carrier can safely deliver, and what a shipper load and count notation protects. For example, when a 3PL tenders a sealed trailer marked shipper load and count, the carrier can avoid liability for shortages it could not check, so the warehouse's own count and photos become the evidence in any shortage dispute. Ocean imports use a parallel framework under COGSA and the Hague Rules.

• Bill of LadingBOLLegal shipping document and receipt
• Shipper Load and CountSLACBOL note that the shipper counted the load
• Carmack AmendmentUS law on carrier liability for freight

• UCC Article 71952, revised 2003 · Uniform state law on warehouse receipts and bills
• Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA)1936 · US ocean cargo liability law with $500 package limit
• Harter Act of 18931893 · US law barring carriers from contracting out negligence

1. 49 U.S.C. Chapter 801, Bills of lading, Cornell LII law.cornell.edu