We will use commercially reasonable efforts to assist and cooperate with our customer to investigate and process any freight loss or damage claims against the underlying transportation providers and any claim for damage to our customer’s property occurring in the course of the transportation services rendered to such customer. We will encourage the underlying transportation providers to pay, settle or disallow all claims within 120 days of filing and to provide an explanation for any declined claim. If the claim is not processed and disposed of within 120 days after receipt, we will provide our customer with status updates upon request. PGL reserves the right to assess an administrative charge for PGL’s assistance to the customer in handling freight claims.

If a shipment arrives with visible or obvious damage or loss of cargo, the customer must notify PGL promptly (in no event later than the time limit established in the applicable Intermodal Circular) in writing advising PGL of the nature and extent of the loss or damage. Prompt notification is required to enable PGL to comply with its underlying agreements with the transportation providers, to allow the removal of damaged trailers and containers from further use until repairs can be made, and to permit PGL and the transportation providers to inspect the shipment. The transportation providers may consider you to have waived and released the claim if there is a failure to provide this prompt notification. The customer will (or will cause its consignee to) preserve and make available to PGL’s or the transportation provider’s inspectors all damaged cargo, all cargo received in good condition and all packaging, blocking, bracing and security devices to assist the inspectors in determining the cause of the damage or loss. Failure to inspect damaged cargo for whatever reason will not change the burden of proof or your obligation to mitigate damages nor will it be considered an admission of liability by PGL or the transportation provider.

During normal business hours, please call our freight claims services department to advise of the loss, damage, shortage or other exceptions at 800-837-7584. After normal business hours, you should call your customer solutions team at 800-837-7584, press #4, or dial your customer solutions team’s toll free number direct. You may also select ext. 2398 to reach the evening manager. You may also notify PGL by e-mail at potentialclaims@pacerglobal.com.

Generally, the transportation providers require that freight claims be submitted to them in writing no later than nine months after the date of delivery or in the case of a lost shipment, nine months after the expected delivery date. Motor transportation providers generally require that you initiate lawsuits on freight claims within two years after any portion of the claim is disallowed. Through the Intermodal Circulars, the rail transportation providers impose different time limits for initiating lawsuits on a freight claim, ranging from six months after disallowance to eighteen months after delivery. The transportation providers will not pay freight claims that do not meet these time limits.

Should our customer wish for us to seek recovery for freight loss or damage from the underlying transportation provider or believe that we are directly liable for a freight claim, as a condition precedent to recovery, the customer must submit the claim to our freight claims department within seven months of date of delivery or in the case of a lost shipment, within seven months of the expected delivery date. The claim should include the information set forth below. If the freight claim is not timely filed, PGL and the underlying transportation providers may consider your failure to timely file the claim as a release by you of PGL and the underlying transportation providers from responsibility to pay that freight claim, and your claim may be declined. After expiration of these time periods, you may proceed by filing the written claim directly with the applicable transportation provider, but we have no responsibility for the timeliness of the filing or the payment or processing of that claim.

Should our customer believe that we are directly liable for a freight claim that has not been resolved, as a condition precedent to recovery, the customer must institute an arbitration proceeding against us to recover on a claim for damage or loss of freight transported within five (5) months from the date of the original written disallowance of the claim or any portion of it from us or the underlying transportation provider. The same time limit will apply to any lawsuit brought by the customer. If the suit or arbitration on a freight claim is not timely initiated, we will consider your failure to timely file the claim as a release of us by you from responsibility for that freight claim, and we will not be liable for and will not process or pay that claim.

We have these time limits due to the deadlines imposed on us by the underlying transportation providers discussed above. Our time limits are intended to allow us time to resubmit your claims with the underlying transportation provider within the deadlines imposed by the Intermodal Circulars or our agreements with the transportation providers.

Our liability for loss, damage or shortage of freight will not exceed the actual loss or damage to the freight minus the salvage value of the freight, subject to the $100,000.00 per vehicle limit and other applicable limitations. Amounts for which we are not liable include loss of or damage to any goods not identified in the transportation documents, loss of or damage to any dunnage, freight charges, attorneys’ fees and brokerage fees, fines, import duties or other charges on shipments intended for export.

In any legal proceedings with respect to a freight claim, you must prove, among other matters and at a minimum, that (1) the freight was in good condition, properly prepared for transportation, appropriately packaged, loaded, blocked and braced in accordance with industry standards (which for intermodal shipments are the AAR guidelines) or as specifically approved by the underlying transportation provider, within the vehicle at the time the shipment was tendered by you to the underlying transportation provider; (2) the freight arrived at destination in a damaged or diminished condition; and (3) the amount of damages due for the freight claim can be specified.

It is important to remember that according to general claims practices, it is the consignee’s obligation to mitigate any losses. Therefore, the consignee should accept damaged freight, and if the consignee is unable to salvage the freight, the freight should be made available to the underlying transportation provider for salvage. If the consignee is unable or unwilling to assist in mitigating the loss, we will notify our customer of the refusal and follow our customer’s direction regarding the freight, including shipping it to a location designated by our customer for further handling. Costs associated with complying with our customer’s direction will be billed to the customer.

If for any reason whatsoever, the consignee refuses the freight or the customer refuses to give timely direction about the disposal of freight rejected by the consignee, PGL may, without further notice or demand, place the freight in storage at the risk and expense of the freight and our customer. Such stored freight will be subject to a lien in favor of PGL for any charges. By tendering freight to us to arrange for transportation, you will be conclusively presumed to have granted such a lien to PGL. PGL may exercise the foregoing rights at any time after 48 hours have elapsed since notification of the arrival and availability of the freight at destination or of the consignee’s rejection of the freight.

Alternatively, PGL or the underlying transportation provider may sell the freight to the highest bidder in a public or private sale. Before such a sale of nonperishable freight is made, PGL will first give written notice to our customer that the freight has been refused or unclaimed and that it will be subject to sale if disposition is not arranged for within three (3) business days. Further failure or refusal to claim or dispose of the freight within this time period will constitute a waiver by you of all right, title and interest in and to the freight and all rights, claims, notices and defenses with respect to the freight to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

If the receiver of perishable freight fails or refuses to accept it promptly, PGL may, in a public or private sale, sell the freight to the best advantage to prevent deterioration. Where the procedures provided for in the two preceding paragraphs are not possible, PGL may sell the freight as authorized by law.

PGL will be entitled to recover from our customer, and/or from the proceeds of a sale or disposal of the freight, all costs incurred as a result of the customer’s or the consignee’s failure to accept delivery of the freight or to provide direction about disposal of rejected freight, including all storage fees, equipment use charges and costs of disposal.

You are required to use all reasonable and good faith efforts to mitigate your damages from any freight loss or damage. These efforts will include salvaging the goods in a commercially reasonable manner and repackaging and relabeling the freight. If you prevent or refuse to sell or allow the sale of damaged freight, we may deduct our reasonable estimate of the salvage value of the damaged freight from the amount of the claim against the transportation provider and us. In that case, you will be bound by the reasonable salvage deduction determined by PGL. Furthermore, we may recover from our customer and/or from the proceeds of a sale of the freight (or deduct from the claim) all costs incurred as a result of the customer’s or the consignee’s rejection and the customer’s failure to provide direction or to sell or permit the sale of the freight, including all storage fees and costs of disposal. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the freight is offered to us for salvage, we are entitled to, but are not required to, undertake salvage efforts. If we, in our discretion, determine that we will not undertake salvage efforts, we in no way waive our right to assert our claim that you failed to mitigate damages by your failure to take efforts to salvage the freight.

We are not liable for freight loss or damage to any person or entity other than our customer and will not process a freight claim brought by any person or entity other than our customer. If a customer wishes to assign a claim to the beneficial owner of the freight or other interested party, the customer must execute and deliver to us an assignment of rights in a form acceptable to us that assigns all of the customer’s rights in the freight claim to the other party.

When submitting a claim, the following items must be included. Failure to provide all of the following information within the time limit set forth in Section 7.3 may be considered a waiver and release of the claim by the transportation provider:

Since documents, photographs and other information sent by facsimile are often illegible or may not be available in an electronic format suitable for e-mail, we recommend that you send freight claims by mail, expedited delivery (such as FedEx) or personal delivery. Providing legible and complete documentation will expedite the processing of the claim.