North Carolina General Statutes 25-7-403. Obligation of bailee to deliver; excuse
(a) A bailee shall deliver the goods to a person entitled under a document of title if the person complies with subsections (b) and (c) of this section, unless and to the extent that the bailee establishes any of the following:
(1) Delivery of the goods to a person whose receipt was rightful as against the claimant;
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 25-7-403
- Bailee: means a person that by a warehouse receipt, bill of lading, or other document of title acknowledges possession of goods and contracts to deliver them. See North Carolina General Statutes 25-7-102
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Goods: means all things that are treated as movable for the purposes of a contract for storage or transportation. See North Carolina General Statutes 25-7-102
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Warehouse: means a person engaged in the business of storing goods for hire. See North Carolina General Statutes 25-7-102
(2) Damage to or delay, loss, or destruction of the goods for which the bailee is not liable;
(3) Previous sale or other disposition of the goods in lawful enforcement of a lien or on a warehouse‘s lawful termination of storage;
(4) The exercise by a seller of its right to stop delivery pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25-2-705 or by a lessor of its right to stop delivery pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25-2A-526;
(5) A diversion, reconsignment, or other disposition pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25-7-303;
(6) Release, satisfaction, or any other personal defense against the claimant; or
(7) Any other lawful excuse.
(b) A person claiming goods covered by a document of title shall satisfy the bailee’s lien if the bailee so requests or if the bailee is prohibited by law from delivering the goods until the charges are paid.
(c) Unless a person claiming the goods is a person against whom the document of title does not confer a right under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 25-7-503(a):
(1) The person claiming under a document shall surrender possession or control of any outstanding negotiable document covering the goods for cancellation or indication of partial deliveries; and
(2) The bailee shall cancel the document or conspicuously indicate in the document the partial delivery or the bailee is liable to any person to whom the document is duly negotiated. (1917, c. 37, ss. 8, 9, 11, 12, 36; 1919, c. 65, ss. 8, 9, 11, 12, 26; C.S., ss. 290, 291, 293, 294, 308, 4048, 4049, 4051, 4052, 4076; 1965, c. 700, s. 1; 2006-112, s. 25.)