A JUDGE has asked worldwide express carriers TNT to explain how a package, containing a £1,900 bank draft, may have been lost on its way to the United States.
Judge Diarmuid Sheridan said TNT was a reputable company and he felt it should not simply claim no knowledge of what had happened the package and offer minimal statutory compensation.
Mr John Costigan, counsel for civil servant Martin Gunn, of Kew Park Avenue, Lucan, said his client was seeking up to £30,000 damages for breach of contract, loss, damage, distress, embarrassment and inconvenience.
Mr Paul Gardiner, counsel for TNT, said that under the Warsaw Convention on the International Carriage of Goods Mr Gunn was entitled only to the return of the £83 carriage fee plus 250 francs (£25) per kilogram of the weight of the goods lost.
"We admit the package was never delivered and I defend the case solely on the limit of liability clause which allows for compensation of £108 to Mr Gunn," Mr Gardiner said.
Mr Gardiner said that, under the convention, Mr Gunn would have to prove recklessness on the part of the carrier in order to establish liability to the extent claimed in the action.
Judge Sheridan said it was impossible for Mr Gunn to establish recklessness when he knew absolutely nothing about TNT's operational practices in the handling and delivery of goods.
He felt there was a legal authority on the shifting of onus of proof in such cases and adjourned the case to hear oral evidence on behalf of TNT's handling of matters.