§269-23  Liability of initial and deliveringcommon carrier for loss; limitation of liability; notice and filing of claim. Any common carrier receiving property for transportation from a point in Hawaiito a point in Hawaii shall issue a receipt or bill of lading therefor, andshall be liable to the lawful holder thereof for any loss, damage, or injury tothe property caused by it or by any common carrier or transportation company towhich the property may be delivered or over whose line or lines the propertymay pass when transported on a through bill of lading, and no contract,receipt, rule, regulation, or other limitation of any character whatsoevershall exempt the common carrier from the liability imposed; and any such commoncarrier so receiving property for transportation or any common carrier ortransportation company delivering the property so received and transportedshall be liable to the lawful holder of the receipt or bill of lading or to anyparty entitled to recover thereon, whether the receipt or bill of lading hasbeen issued or not, for the full actual loss, damage, or injury to suchproperty caused by it or by any common carrier or transportation company towhich the property may be delivered or over whose line or lines the propertymay pass when transported on a through bill of lading, notwithstanding anylimitation of liability or limitation of the amount of recovery orrepresentation or agreement as to value in any receipt or bill of lading, or inany contract, rule, regulation, or in any tariff filed with the publicutilities commission; and any such limitation, without respect to the manner orform in which it is sought to be made is declared to be unlawful and void;provided that if the loss, damage, or injury occurs while the property is inthe custody of a carrier by water the liability of the carrier shall bedetermined by the bill of lading of the carrier by water and by and under thelaws and regulations applicable to transportation by water, and the liabilityof the initial or delivering carrier shall be the same as that of the carrierby water; provided that the provisions hereof respecting liability for fullactual loss, damage, or injury, notwithstanding any limitation of liability orrecovery or representation or agreement or release as to value, and declaringany such limitation to be unlawful and void, shall not apply, first, to baggagecarried on passenger trains or boats, or trains or boats carrying passengers;second, to property, except ordinary livestock, received for transportationconcerning which the carrier shall have been or shall be expressly authorizedor required by order of the commission to establish and maintain ratesdependent upon the value declared in writing by the shipper or agreed upon inwriting as the released value of the property, in which case the declaration oragreement shall have no other effect than to limit liability and recovery to anamount not exceeding the value so declared or released, and any tariff schedulewhich may be filed with the commission pursuant to the order shall containspecific reference thereto and may establish rates varying with the value sodeclared and agreed upon; and the commission may make such order in cases whererates dependent upon and varying with declared or agreed values would, in itsopinion, be just and reasonable under the circumstances and conditionssurrounding the transportation; provided further that nothing in this sectionshall deprive any holder of the receipt or bill of lading of any remedy orright of action which the holder has under the existing law; provided furtherthat it shall be unlawful for any such receiving or delivering common carrierto provide by rule, contract, regulation, or otherwise a shorter period for thefiling of claims than four months, and for the institution of suits than twoyears, such period for institution of suits to be computed from the day whennotice in writing is given by the carrier to the claimant that the carrier hasdisallowed the claim or any part or parts thereof specified in the notice; andprovided further that the liability imposed by this section shall also apply inthe case of property reconsigned or diverted in accordance with the applicabletariffs filed as provided by the commission. [L 1961, c 66, §1; am L 1963, c193, §32; Supp, §104-21.5; HRS §269-23; gen ch 1985]

 

Attorney General Opinions

 

  Discussion of state-federal jurisdiction over interisland aircarriers.  Att. Gen. Op. 71-3.

 

Case Notes

 

  Onus on carrier to disprove negligence when goods are damagedwhile in carrier's possession.  8 H. 525.