Vandenburg v. Randy Houston International

In Carriage of Goods by Sea on (Updated )

The Plaintiff hired the Defendant to ship her goods from Toronto to Nigeria. Based on representations made by the Defendant, she understood that it was experienced in the shipment of such goods. The Plaintiff travelled to Nigeria but her goods never arrived. She claimed against the Defendant for the return of the freight she had paid and for her expenses. The Defendant counterclaimed for the costs of storing the Plaintiff’s goods. The court held that the contract had been frustrated by the failure of the Defendant to ship the Plaintiff’s goods, a failure which the court found was due to the lack of expertise of the Defendant. Accordingly, the court awarded the Plaintiff damages of $10,000 (the maximum amount allowed within that court’s jurisdiction). With respect to the counterclaim, the court awarded damages for storage in the amount of $2,000.00. (Editor’s note: Unfortunately the Reasons do not indicate why the counterclaim was allowed in this amount or at all.)