(a) Except as customary in international transportation, a tangible bill of lading shall not be issued in a set of parts. The issuer is liable for damages caused by violation of this subsection.

(b) If a tangible bill of lading is lawfully issued in a set of parts, each of which contains an identification code and is expressed to be valid only if the goods have not been delivered against any other part, the whole of the parts constitutes one bill.

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Terms Used In South Carolina Code 36-7-304

  • Bailee: means the person who by a warehouse receipt, bill of lading or other document of title acknowledges possession of goods and contracts to deliver them. See South Carolina Code 36-7-102
  • Carrier: means a person who issues a bill of lading. See South Carolina Code 36-7-102
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Document: means document of title as defined in the general definitions in Chapter 1 of this title. See South Carolina Code 36-7-102
  • Goods: means all things that are treated as movable for the purposes of a contract for storage or transportation. See South Carolina Code 36-7-102
  • Issuer: means a bailee who issues a document of title or, in the case of an unaccepted delivery order, the person who orders the possessor of goods to deliver. See South Carolina Code 36-7-102
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.

(c) If a tangible bill of lading is lawfully issued in a set of parts and different parts are negotiated to different persons, the title of the holder to which the first due negotiation is made prevails as to both the document of title and the goods even if any later holder may have received the goods from the carrier in good faith and discharged the carrier’s obligation by surrender of its part.

(d) A person that negotiates or transfers a single part of a tangible bill of lading issued in a set is liable to holders of that part as if it were the whole set.

(e) The bailee shall deliver in accordance with Part 4 of this chapter against the first presented part of a tangible bill of lading lawfully issued in a set. Delivery in this manner discharges the bailee’s obligation on the whole bill.