§11711. Dispute settlement program for household goods carriers

(a)(1) One or more motor common carriers providing transportation of household goods subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under subchapter II of chapter 105 of this title who want to establish a program to settle disputes between such carriers and shippers of household goods concerning the transportation of household goods may submit an application for establishing such program to the Commission. Such application shall be in such form and contain such information as the Commission may, by regulation, require. The Commission shall review and approve, in accordance with the provisions of this section, each application submitted under this subsection.

(2) The Commission shall approve, at least within 45 days of its filing, any application to establish a program for settling disputes concerning the transportation of household goods which meets the requirements of subsection (b) of this section.

(3) The Commission may investigate at any time the functioning of any program approved under this section and, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, may suspend or revoke its approval for failure to meet the requirements of this section and such regulations as the Commission may issue to carry out the provisions of this section.

(b) No program for settling disputes concerning the transportation of household goods may be approved under this section unless the program is a fair and expeditious method for settling such disputes and complies with each of the following requirements and such regulations as the Commission may issue:

(1) The program is designed to prevent a carrier from having any special advantage in any case in which the claimant resides or does business at a place distant from the carrier's principal or other place of business.

(2) The program provides for adequate notice of the availability of such program, including a concise easy-to-read, accurate summary of the program and disclosure of the legal effects of election to utilize the program. Such notice must be given to persons for whom household goods are to be transported by the carrier before such goods are tendered to the carrier for transportation.

(3) Upon request of a shipper, the carrier must promptly provide such forms and other information as are necessary for initiating an action under the program to resolve a dispute.

(4) Each person, authorized pursuant to the program to arbitrate or otherwise settle disputes, must be independent of the parties to the dispute and must be capable, as determined under such regulations as the Commission may issue, to resolve such disputes fairly and expeditiously. The program must ensure that each person chosen to settle the disputes is authorized and able to obtain from the shipper or carrier any material and relevant information to the extent necessary to carry out a fair and expeditious decisionmaking process.

(5) No fee for instituting a proceeding under the program may be charged the shipper; except that, if the program is binding solely on the carrier, the shipper may be charged a fee of not more than $25 for instituting a proceeding under the program. In any case in which a shipper is charged a fee under this paragraph for instituting a proceeding under the program and such dispute is settled in favor of the shipper, the person settling the dispute must refund such fee to the shipper unless the person settling the dispute determines that such refund is inappropriate.

(6) The program must not require the shipper to agree to utilize the dispute settlement program prior to the time that a dispute arises.

(7) The program may provide for an oral presentation of a dispute concerning transportation of household goods by a party to the dispute (or a party's representative), but such oral presentation may be made only if all parties to the dispute expressly agree to such presentation and the date, time, and location of such presentation.

(8) Any person settling a dispute concerning transportation of household goods under the program must, as expeditiously as possible but at least within 60 days of receipt of written notification of the dispute, render a decision based on the information gathered, except that, in any case in which a party to the dispute fails to provide in a timely manner any information concerning such dispute which the person settling the dispute may reasonably require to resolve the dispute, the dispute settler may extend such 60-day period for a reasonable period of time. A decision resolving a dispute may include any remedies appropriate under the circumstances, including repair, replacement, refund, reimbursement for expenses, and compensation for damages.

(c) Materials and information obtained in the course of a decisionmaking process to settle a dispute under a dispute settlement program approved under this section may not be used to bring an action under section 11910 of this title.

(d) In any court action to resolve a dispute between a shipper of household goods and a motor common carrier providing transportation subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under subchapter II of chapter 105 of this title concerning the transportation of household goods by such carrier, the shipper shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees if-

(1) the shipper submits a claim to the carrier within 120 days after the date the shipment is delivered or the date the delivery is scheduled, whichever is later;

(2) the shipper prevails in such court action; and

(3)(A) no dispute settlement program approved under this section was available for use by the shipper to resolve the dispute; or

(B) a decision resolving the dispute was not rendered under a dispute settlement program approved under this section within the period provided under subsection (b)(8) of this section or an extension of such period under such subsection; or

(C) the court proceeding is to enforce a decision rendered under a dispute settlement program approved under this section and is instituted after the period for performance under such decision has elapsed.

(e) In any court action to resolve a dispute between a shipper of household goods and a motor common carrier providing transportation subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under subchapter II of chapter 105 of this title concerning the transportation of household goods by such carrier, such carrier may be awarded reasonable attorney's fees by the court only if the shipper brought such action in bad faith-

(1) after resolution of such dispute under a dispute settlement program approved under this section; or

(2) after institution of a proceeding by the shipper to resolve such dispute under a dispute settlement program approved under this section but before (A) the period provided under subsection (b)(8) for resolution of such dispute (including, if applicable, an extension of such period under such subsection) ends, and (B) a decision resolving such dispute is rendered under such program.

(f) The provisions of this section shall apply only in the case of collect-on-delivery transportation of those types of household goods described in section 10102(11)(A) of this title.

(Added Pub. L. 96–454, §7(a)(1), Oct. 15, 1980, 94 Stat. 2016 ; amended Pub. L. 97–261, §6(d)(2), Sept. 20, 1982, 96 Stat. 1107 .)

Amendments

1982-Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 97–261 substituted "10102(11)(A)" for "10102(10)(A)".

Effective Date of 1982 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 97–261 effective on 60th day after Sept. 20, 1982, see section 31(a) of Pub. L. 97–261, set out as a note under section 10101 of this title.

Effective Date

Section 7(b) of Pub. L. 96–454 provided that: "The amendments made by this section [enacting this section] shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 15, 1980], except that subsections (d) and (e) of section 11711 of title 49, United States Code, as inserted in chapter 117 of such title by subsection (a)(1) of this section, shall take effect on the two hundred and fortieth day following such date of enactment."