Claims Dispute Details Played Out in Mock Trial

SALT LAKE CITY — Lawyers at American Trucking Associations’ Safety and Loss Prevention Management Council meeting March 23-25 reached agreement on one thing about disputes over liability in freight loss and damage claims cases: There is no sure, hard and fast route to victory.

But in talks to the council members and through the device of a mock trial, the lawyers did put forward some general observations and offered different bits of advice to help carriers measure damages properly and resolve claims successfully.

Jeffrey Simmons of Deconcini, McDonald, Yetwin & Lacy in Phoenix, Ariz., and Scott McMickle, an Atlanta lawyer, aided by Ryan Kelly of Baumann, Kelly, Paytas & Bernstein, of Phoenix, went over the fundamentals of determining “actual loss” — without ever coming to a concrete conclusion.

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