Also known as: carriers · carrier's · common carrier
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person or entity that transports passengers or goods for hire. The common carrier owes passengers a duty to take reasonable action to protect them from unreasonable risk of physical harm and to provide first aid after learning they are ill or injured.
Christopher Collins boarded a bus operated by Crestview Holdings. When another passenger became violent, the driver continued the route without intervening or summoning help. Collins suffered serious injuries. The carrier's failure to take reasonable protective steps exposed it to liability for breaching its duty to passengers.
Canyon Construction hired a carrier to deliver a critical mill shaft. The carrier's delay caused the mill to shut down for days. The carrier argued it had no notice of special circumstances. Liability was limited to ordinary losses because no special damages were communicated at the time of contracting.
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Cynthia Cortez was injured by a train while walking near tracks in her home state. She sued the carrier in federal court. The court applied state tort rules rather than a general federal common law because the carrier's liability for negligence within the state is governed by local law.
Charlotte Chung purchased a ticket from a cruise carrier. The ticket contained a clause requiring all disputes to be litigated in Florida. After an injury aboard ship, Chung sued in her home state. The carrier enforced the forum-selection clause because it was reasonably communicated and fundamentally fair.
A carrier providing electric service proposed to run promotional ads encouraging greater energy use. State regulators banned the ads to promote conservation. The carrier challenged the ban as an unconstitutional restriction on commercial speech because the prohibition was not narrowly tailored to the asserted interest.
A national carrier contributed funds to political candidates. Federal law capped the amounts. The carrier argued the limits violated associational rights. The restrictions were upheld because they served the important interest of preventing corruption while leaving ample room for political participation.
A common carrier must take reasonable action to protect passengers from unreasonable risk of physical harm and must provide first aid once it knows or has reason to know a passenger is ill or injured.
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A carrier charged with a duty of public service generally may not exempt itself from liability for negligent breach of that duty, although a fairly bargained agreement limiting liability to a reasonable agreed value in exchange for a lower rate may be permitted.
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A seller may stop delivery when it discovers the buyer is insolvent or when the buyer repudiates or fails to make a payment due before delivery.
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…was invoked. The defendants submitted that without a special contract or notice of special circumstances the liability of a common carrier is confined to the loss that would ordinarily arise from his breach and that notice to a clerk in the ordinary course could not convert the carrier's obligation into an undertaking to bear…