In recent days, the People ' s Court of the Pupdong District of Shanghai has been hearing a dispute over a contract for the carriage of goods by air as a result of the death of a pet in a transnational consignment. The parties disagreed about the limits of compensation in the Montreal Convention and eventually reached a conciliation agreement under the auspices of the court.
The case was presided over by Vice-President Mao Haebo, a member of the Pudong court team, and was heard in a panel of judges with Vice-President Zhao and Judge Liao Ho Woo of the Civil Chamber of the Pudong court. More than 20 students and teachers from the University of Tuji University attended the trial.
The owner claims more than $160,000.
Mr. Shen and his mother returned from an airline flight in Paris, France, where they conducted live transport for the two dogs accompanying them in their respective names. Prior to the shipment, two pet dogs were confirmed to be in good health and eligible for transport, and Mr. Shen was asked to purchase shipping containers at the airport site and paid for them. It was not expected that when the flight arrived, Mr. Shen was told that two pet dogs had died. In the absence of compensation in consultation with the airline, the airline was sued in court.
In Mr. Shen v. Airlines, the plaintiff, Mr. Shen, argued that the fact that the dog was in a state of health prior to the shipment and had died on arrival was sufficient to demonstrate that the airline had failed to exercise due diligence and care during the shipment. The prosecution demanded that the defendant's airline be held liable for the damage caused by the death of the dog, that it be reimbursed for the costs of quarantine of the pet, the costs of the pet cabin, the purchase of the pet and the cost of raising the animal, the difference in the fare, the moral comfort, etc., totalling more than RMB 160,000.
The defendant airline argued that the case was an international air transport dispute and that the Montreal Convention should prevail. The defendant ' s staff had advised the plaintiff to perform an autopsy on the death of the dog, but the plaintiff had given up his choice. Pursuant to article 22, paragraph 3, of the Convention, the plaintiff had not made a special declaration of pet value prior to shipment, nor had the additional costs been paid, and the liability of the defendant should therefore be limited to 22 SDRs per kilogram, one SDR corresponding to 7.28 RMB. At the same time, under article 29 of the Convention, in the transport of passengers' baggage and goods, actions for damages may only be brought under the conditions and limits set by the Convention, and punitive or other non-compensatory damages may not be ordered, and the costs of pet breeding, moral damages, lawyers ' fees, translation, etc. claimed by the plaintiff are not covered by the Convention and are not compensable.