Virginia Code 8.7-601: Lost, stolen or destroyed documents
(1) If a document has been lost, stolen or destroyed, a court may order delivery of the goods or issuance of a substitute document and the bailee may without liability to any person comply with such order. If the document was negotiable, a court may not order delivery of the goods or issuance of a substitute document without the claimant’s posting security unless it finds that any person who may suffer loss as a result of nonsurrender of possession or control of the document is adequately protected against the loss. If the document was not negotiable, the court may require security. The court may also in its discretion order payment of the bailee’s reasonable costs and attorney’s fees in any action under this subsection.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 8.7-601
- Bailee: means the person who by a warehouse receipt, bill of lading or other document acknowledges possession of goods and contracts to deliver them. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Document: means document of title as defined in the general definitions in Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Good faith: means honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Goods: means all things that are treated as movable for the purposes of a contract of storage or transportation. See Virginia Code 8.7-102
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
(2) A bailee who, without court order, delivers goods to a person claiming under a missing negotiable document is liable to any person injured thereby. If the delivery is not in good faith, the bailee becomes liable for conversion. Delivery in good faith is not conversion if the claimant posts security with the bailee in an amount at least double the value of the goods at the time of posting to indemnify any person injured by the delivery who files a notice of claim within one year after the delivery.
Code 1950, § 61-17; 1964, c. 219; 2004, c. 200.