Court case[1916] 2 KB 570

Cargo Fleet sold iron to buyers who became insolvent while the goods were on board Booth's ship for carriage to Brazil. The sellers gave the shipowners notice of stoppage in transit and asked for redelivery, tendering the freight. The shipowners, acting on the buyers' instructions, nonetheless delivered the goods at the destination to the buyers' agents. The sellers claimed the value of the goods.

The Court of Appeal held the shipowners liable. On receipt of a valid notice of stoppage the carrier must hold the goods for the unpaid seller and redeliver them according to his directions; delivery to the buyer thereafter is a wrongful act for which the carrier answers in damages. The carrier's own lien for freight is preserved: the seller who stops must pay the freight, and the shipowners were accordingly entitled to deduct it, being liable for the value of the goods less the freight due.