Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

The freight bill (or bill of lading) is a contract between the carrier and shipper for the movement of a load from one point to another. The bill of lading will most likely contain a statute of limitations (SOL) for filing claims. If not, it may be set forth in a published tariff. Depending on the facts, the SOL may be not begin to run until the claim has accrued, the SOL may be tolled, the shipper may be estopped (prevented) from asserting the SOL, the SOL may conflict with federal laws such as the ICC, or a number of other objections may apply to the SOL defense.