On March 3, 2016, the Florida Supreme Court issued a decision contradicting many Carmack Amendment preemption cases.  The Court denied UPS’s motion to dismiss non-Carmack claims alleging Conversion, Profiting by Criminal Activity, Unauthorized Publication of Name or Likeness, and a claim under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.  The claims arose after UPS delivered an empty package that had contained two paintings shipped by an artist.  At some point, UPS located the paintings and sold them to its lost goods vendor which auctioned them off. The buyer at the auction notified the shipper/artist of the purchase. UPS moved to dismiss all claims, arguing preemption under the Carmack Amendment. The trial court granted its motion and dismissed the case. The Fourth District Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s final order of dismissal but certified the conflict “[t]o the extent [its] opinion conflicts with the Fifth District’s decision in Braid Sales.” Plaintiff filed a notice with the Supreme Court to invoke its discretionary jurisdiction to review the Fourth District’s decision. The Supreme Court reversed, finding that the plaintiff’s claims of a pattern of criminal activity by UPS are separate and apart from a cargo loss occurring during the shipping process. The Supreme Court found that the “allegations illustrate a course of criminal conduct by UPS and its cohorts that bears, at best, only a tangential relationship to the interstate shipment process and, more specifically, a carrier’s contractual obligation to transport goods.” ​​Click here for more information.