Attorneys Larry & Jeremy Secure Settlement for Freight Forwarder in Shanghai Multimodal Dispute

In 2023, an enterprise in Shanghai entrusted an international freight forwarding company in Shenzhen to transport the entire production line of product equipment to its newly-built factory in Mexico. The two parties agreed to adopt a “double clearance with tax included” model, where the freight forwarding company would be responsible for all matters including import and export customs declaration and destination port delivery.

During the transportation process, the Shanghai company made false declarations in the cargo declaration documents, resulting in multiple forced amendments to the customs information. This ultimately led to delays in customs clearance at the destination port. As a result, a large number of containers were detained at the terminal, incurring substantial demurrage and storage fees. Acting in good faith and with a sense of responsibility, the freight forwarding company advanced all such costs, totaling several million RMB. However, when the freight forwarder later sought reimbursement, the Shanghai company denied the legitimacy of these expenses and argued that the charges should have been borne by the consignee at the destination port. They thus refused to reimburse the freight forwarder.

The freight forwarding company entrusted Attorneys Larry Zhou and Jeremy Hu of Landing (Shenzhen) Law Office to handle the case. After a thorough review of the case materials, the two attorneys filed a lawsuit with the Guangzhou Maritime Court, requesting that the court order the opposing party to reimburse the destination port expenses and related losses that had been advanced by the freight forwarder.

The key to this case lay in proving that the destination port charges were genuinely incurred, the amounts were reasonable, and the advance payments were necessary. To that end, Attorneys Larry and Jeremy systematically organized the evidence, verifying each shipment’s demurrage fees, storage fees, payment slips, bills, and invoices one by one. Through this meticulous work, they built a complete and rigorous chain of evidence, aiming to present the full and accurate facts of the case to the court.

Relying on comprehensive evidence and solid legal analysis, Larry’s team gradually dismantled the opposing party’s defenses, leading them to realize that persisting in their arguments would likely result in defeat. Seizing the opportunity, Larry's team actively facilitated negotiations, and under the court’s mediation, successfully achieved a settlement. Ultimately, the opposing party agreed to pay the majority of the destination port charges previously advanced by the client. The dispute was thereby resolved amicably, and the parties agreed to continue their business cooperation.

In this case, Attorneys Larry and Jeremy of Landing (Shenzhen) Law Office not only helped their client recover substantial losses but also facilitated an amicable resolution that balanced the protection of legal rights with the preservation of a cooperative business relationship.

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