Road carrier not guilty of gross negligence

The insurance companies had paid out the owners of the cargo for the theft of €450 000 worth of mink pelts which were stolen from the carrier during a stopover in Milan on January 15 1997, reports the International Law Office. The insurance companies had accused the carrier of gross negligence. However, the Supreme Court concluded that the carrier’s conduct could not be considered to show the type of conscious risk-taking or indifference towards the safety of the goods that would fulfil the requirements for gross negligence in accordance with Article 38 of the Contracts of Carriage by Road Act. Full International Law Office report