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B-270469 1 (1996-05-29)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptadyv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Comptroller General of the United States Washington, D.C. 20548 Decision Matter of: Andrews Van Lines, Inc. File: B-270469 Date: May 29, 1996 DIGEST 1. A carrier is entitled to a partial refund of an amount setoff for damage to a dining table where the agency incorrectly applied a depreciated rate of 50 percent of the replacement value to compute the setoff amount, instead of using the maximum depreciation rate of 75 percent, as required by its own depreciation guide for a 20-year-old wooden furniture piece. 2. A shipper establishes a prima facie case of carrier liability for damage to the shipper's property by showing tender of the property to the carrier, delivery in a more damaged condition, and the amount of the damages. Thereafter, the carrier has the burden of proving that it was free from negligence and that an excepted cause was the sole cause of the damage. Thus, a carrier that merely offers its conclusion based on an inspection that the damage was not transit-related has not met its burden when the carrier's inventory sheet does not list the damage as preexisting damage, and the carrier's rider, prepared when the carrier removed the items from storage, likewise does not list the damage. DECISION Andrews Van Lines appeals our Claims Settlement Z-2729037-128, of October 12, 1995, denying its request for a refund.1 The settlement involved offsets taken by the Department of the Army against Andrews for losses or damage to various items of household goods shipped by Elwood Tauscher under GBL No. SP-027,530.2 Of the $1,415 amount offset, Andrews requested a refund of $1,037.46, but the Army only allowed $85. Andrews claims the remaining $952.46, not allowed. As discussed below, Andrews is entitled to an additional refund of $411.98. 1Carrier claim No. 93-402. 2Army claim No. 94-061-0967. 101524