## Facts

- Quaker Oats purchased about 500 metric tons of tetrahydrofuran (THF) for shipment from Kobe, Japan to Houston, Texas aboard the M/V Torvanger, owned by Westfal Larsen & Co. A/S.
- THF has a tendency to form peroxides unless stored with specified precautions, including shipment under a nitrogen blanket.
- Post-loading samples in Kobe showed peroxide levels within commercially acceptable limits.
- Upon arrival in Houston, samples showed that THF in one of the vessel’s tanks had peroxide levels above acceptable limits; the other tanks remained within acceptable limits.
- Quaker Oats sought damages under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA) for costs incurred to remove the excessive peroxides from the affected portion of the cargo.
- The carrier presented evidence that it maintained the nitrogen blanket and used proper handling procedures, but neither party established the actual cause of the peroxide increase.

## Issues

1. After a shipper establishes a prima facie case of cargo damage under COGSA, may a carrier rebut it solely by showing due diligence and proper cargo care without proving the cause of the damage or an applicable statutory defense?
2. Did the district court err by shifting the burden back to the shipper when the carrier had not shown an excepted cause or that the loss occurred without the carrier’s fault?

## Decision

- The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court’s judgment dismissing Quaker Oats’ claim.
- The court agreed that Quaker Oats established a prima facie case by showing the cargo was loaded in good condition and discharged in a contaminated condition.
- The court held the carrier did not rebut the prima facie case because it neither identified a cause of the loss nor proved the loss fell within a COGSA exception or occurred without the carrier’s fault.
- General evidence of careful practices, without a credible explanation tying the damage to an excepted cause or to no carrier fault, was insufficient to shift the burden back to the shipper.

## Legal Principles

- Under COGSA, a cargo claimant makes a prima facie case by showing the goods were delivered to the carrier in good condition and outturned in damaged or contaminated condition.
- Once a prima facie case is shown, the carrier must rebut it by proving that the damage resulted from a COGSA § 1304(2) excepted cause or by proving the damage occurred without the carrier’s fault.
- Evidence of due care in handling, standing alone, does not rebut a prima facie case when the cause of damage remains unexplained; the burden does not return to the shipper unless the carrier satisfies its rebuttal burden.

## Conclusion

The Fifth Circuit held that COGSA’s burden-shifting framework requires the carrier to do more than show generally proper handling after the shipper proves good order at loading and damage at discharge; without proof of an excepted cause or no-fault causation, the carrier remains responsible for the loss.


Quaker Oats Co. v. M/V Torvanger, 734 F.2d 238 (5th Cir. 1984)