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B-270379 1 (1996-05-22)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptadyk0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Comptroller General of the United States Washington, D.C. 20548 Decision Matter of: American Van Services, Inc. File: B-270379 Date: May 22, 1996 DIGEST When prima facie liability has been established, the burden of proof shifts to the carrier to rebut its liability. In the present situation, a prima facie case of carrier liability has been established in our view, and the carrier has presented insufficient evidence to rebut its liability. DECISION American Van Services, Inc., requests reconsideration of Settlement Certificate, Z-2862118(46), September 21, 1995, which denied its claim for a refund of $139.89. This amount was set off by the Air Force to recover damages to a service member's household goods. We affirm the settlement. American disputes its liability for two damaged items, a microwave oven and a lead crystal vase. In particular, American argues that the third facet of a Drima facie case, establishing the amount of damage, has not been met. To establish a prima facie case of carrier liability for loss of household goods, a shipper must show tender to the carrier, failure to deliver, and the amount of damages. See, Missouri Pacific Railroad Co., Inc. v. Elmore & Stahl, 377 U.S. 134 (1964). When prima facie liability has been established, the burden of proof shifts to the carrier to rebut its liability. In the present situation, a prima facie case of carrier liability has been established in our view, and the carrier has not presented sufficient evidence to rebut its liability. American questions how our Office determined that a box labeled housewares included the microwave oven. Additionally, American questions how we determined that the replacement microwave oven, a Sharp model R300A, is the equivalent of the tendered model, a Sharp model R2A52B, and that the purchase date of the microwave oven was 1992, not 1987, as established via the shipper acquired Sears estimate. Relying on the 1987 date, American requests depreciation be taken into consideration. Concerning the crystal vase, American questions how our Office determined that a chip of non-described magnitude made the vase non-repairable. 1157517

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