Virginia Law

Part 4. Warehouse Receipts and Bills of Lading: General Obligations..

The obligations imposed by this title on an issuer apply to a document even if:

(a) the document may not comply with the requirements of this title or of any other law or regulation regarding its issue, form or content; or

(b) the issuer may have violated laws regulating the conduct of his business; or

(c) the goods covered by the document were owned by the bailee at the time the document was issued; or

(d) the person issuing the document does not come within the definition of warehouseman if it purports to be a warehouse receipt.

Code 1950, § 61-23; 1964, c. 219; 2004, c. 200.

Neither a duplicate nor any other document purporting to cover goods already represented by an outstanding document of the same issuer confers any right in the goods, except as provided in the case of tangible bills in a set of parts, overissue of documents for fungible goods, substitutes for lost, stolen or destroyed documents, or substitute documents issued pursuant to § 8.7-105.1. The issuer is liable for damages caused by his overissue or failure to identify a duplicate document as such by conspicuous notation.

Code 1950, § 61-9; 1964, c. 219; 2004, c. 200.

(1) The bailee must deliver the goods to a person entitled under the document who complies with subsections (2) and (3), unless and to the extent that the bailee establishes any of the following:

(a) delivery of the goods to a person whose receipt was rightful as against the claimant;

(b) damage to or delay, loss or destruction of the goods for which the bailee is not liable;

(c) previous sale or other disposition of the goods in lawful enforcement of a lien or on warehouseman's lawful termination of storage;

(d) the exercise by a seller of his right to stop delivery pursuant to § 8.2-705 or by a lessor of his right to stop delivery pursuant to § 8.2A-526;

(e) a diversion, reconsignment or other disposition pursuant to § 8.7-303;

(f) release, satisfaction or any other fact affording a personal defense against the claimant; or

(g) any other lawful excuse.

(2) A person claiming goods covered by a document must satisfy the bailee's lien where the bailee so requests or where the bailee is prohibited by law from delivering the goods until the charges are paid.

(3) Unless the person claiming the goods is one against whom the document confers no right under § 8.7-503 (1), he must surrender possession or control, for cancellation or notation of partial deliveries, any outstanding negotiable document covering the goods, and the bailee must cancel the document or conspicuously note the partial delivery thereon or be liable to any person to whom the document is duly negotiated.

(4) "Person entitled under the document" means holder, in the case of a negotiable document, or the person to whom delivery of the goods is to be made by the terms of, or pursuant to instructions in a record under, a nonnegotiable document.

Code 1950, §§ 61-11 to 61-15, 61-19, 61-22; 1964, c. 219; 2004, c. 200.

A bailee who in good faith has received goods and delivered or otherwise disposed of them according to the terms of the document or pursuant to this title is not liable therefor. This rule applies even though (a) the person from whom he received the goods had no authority to procure the document or to dispose of the goods or (b) the person to whom he delivered the goods had no authority to receive them.

Code 1950, § 61-13; 1964, c. 219; 2004, c. 200.