Encl. (1) to COMDTINST 4610.6
2.
Exceptions to Rules of Carrier Liability.
a.
Number of Exceptions. The almost absolute liability of a common carrier for loss or
injury to goods received for carriage is subject to five exceptions. The following
paragraphs describe them.
(1) Act of God. A carrier is not liable for loss of or injury to property caused by an Act
of God. This is defined to be an event which could not happen by the intervention of
man, or be prevented by human skill, knowledge, or foresight. It includes
extraordinary floods, storms, unusual lightning, sudden tempests, severe frosts,
earthquakes, tidal waves, and the like. An Act of God, as the term is known in law, is
such unusual and extraordinary manifestation of the forces of nature that it could not
under normal conditions have been anticipated or expected. It justifies the failure of
the common carrier to perform its contract of carriage and relieves it of the liability
for the loss of or injury to the property concerned. The rule, however, is not absolute.
Although loss or injury to property results from an Act of God, if the carrier is
negligent in avoiding or lessening the loss or damage, it is liable. For example, the
rule does not apply if:
(a) The carrier fails to obtain or ignores local reports of severe storms and brings the
property into contact with the destructive force.
(b) The event is not the immediate or only cause of the loss or damage. As an
example, the carrier takes property into an area recently struck by an earthquake,
ignoring reports of unsafe roads and unstable buildings and requests to remain
clear of the area. If the carrier is involved in an incident which damages the
property, it is liable. The earthquake was not the immediate cause of the damage.
(c) A freezing condition occurs at a season of the year or in a climate where freezing
weather is to be reasonably expected.
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