B-147433, NOV. 29, 1961

B-147433, NOV. 29, 1961

TO CAPTAIN RUSSELL M. STOKER, USAF, MSC, RETIRED:

YOUR LETTER OF OCTOBER 1, 1961, REQUESTS REVIEW OF THE SETTLEMENT OF AUGUST 30, 1961, WHICH DISALLOWED YOUR CLAIM FOR REFUND OF AMOUNTS COLLECTED FROM YOU AS THE EXCESS COST OF VARIOUS SHIPMENTS OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS WHILE YOU WERE ON ACTIVE DUTY. IT IS YOUR CONTENTION THAT YOU HAVE NOT BEEN GIVEN PROPER CREDIT FOR THE WEIGHT OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL BOOKS AND PAPERS.

THE RECORD SHOWS THAT IN 1950 YOU WERE REQUIRED TO REFUND $63.96 REPRESENTING THE COST OF PACKING 1,066 POUNDS OF HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS IN EXCESS OF YOUR AUTHORIZED WEIGHT ALLOWANCE. THE EFFECTS APPARENTLY WERE SHIPPED TO JAPAN, AND ON JULY 19, 1950, WHILE IN JAPAN YOU CERTIFIED THAT YOUR PROFESSIONAL BOOKS SHIPPED AS A PART OF YOUR AUTHORIZED HOUSEHOLD GOODS WERE REQUIRED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR MILITARY DUTIES. HOWEVER, BY FIRST INDORSEMENT TO YOUR LETTER OF THE SAME DATE REQUESTING CREDIT FOR AN UNKNOWN WEIGHT OF PROFESSIONAL BOOKS YOU WERE ADVISED THAT THE ,RECORDS DO NOT INDICATE PROFESSIONAL BOOKS IN YOUR MOVEMENT.'

BY PARAGRAPH 1, SPECIAL ORDERS A-340, DATED JULY 6, 1959, YOU WERE TRANSFERRED FROM ENT AIR FORCE BASE, COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, TO PEPPERELL AIR FORCE BASE, ST. JOHNS, NEWFOUNDLAND. A PORTION OF YOUR EFFECTS WAS SHIPPED TO STORAGE AND THE REMAINDER WAS SHIPPED TO YOUR OVERSEAS STATION. SINCE THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF THE EFFECTS EXCEEDED YOUR AUTHORIZED WEIGHT ALLOWANCE YOU WERE REQUIRED TO PAY AN EXCESS COST OF $18.56. ON JULY 24, 1959, WHEN YOU EXECUTED AN APPLICATION FOR THE OVERSEAS SHIPMENT YOU SAID YOU HAD APPROXIMATELY 300 POUNDS OF PROFESSIONAL BOOKS, PAPERS AND EQUIPMENT. THE RECORD SHOWS THAT THE WEIGHT OF THE ITEMS IDENTIFIED AS PROFESSIONAL BOOKS, ETC., WAS 240 POUNDS. BY FIRST INDORSEMENT OF APRIL 6, 1960, YOU QUESTIONED THAT WEIGHT, SAYING THAT YOU HAVE NEVER HAD LESS THAN 600 POUNDS OF SUCH ITEMS. A WEIGHT CERTIFICATE DATED JUNE 6, 1952, NOT RELATED TO ANY SHIPMENT HERE INVOLVED, SHOWS YOUR PROFESSIONAL BOOKS THEN PRESENTED FOR WEIGHING WEIGHED 800 POUNDS. BY LETTER OF APRIL 6, 1961, YOU SUGGESTED THAT THE RECORDED ACTUAL WEIGHT OF 240 POUNDS ON THE 1959 SHIPMENT BE INCREASED TO (BY) 560 POUNDS REPRESENTING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 240 POUNDS AND 800 POUNDS.

BY PARAGRAPH 1, SPECIAL ORDER A-389, DATED APRIL 18, 1960, YOU WERE TRANSFERRED FROM PEPPERELL AIR FORCE BASE TO TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA. YOUR HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS WERE SHIPPED FROM YOUR OVERSEAS STATION AND PLACE OF STORAGE TO YOUR NEW STATION. GOVERNMENT BILL OF LADING AF-1388229 DATED JUNE 27, 1960, COVERING THE SHIPMENT FROM PEPPERELL AIR FORCE BASE SHOWS THAT THE SHIPMENT INCLUDED 320 POUNDS OF PROFESSIONAL BOOKS, PAPERS AND EQUIPMENT. NO SUCH ITEMS ARE SHOWN ON GOVERNMENT BILL OF LADING AF-935586 COVERING THE SHIPMENT OF YOUR EFFECTS FROM STORAGE. SINCE THE TOTAL WEIGHT SHIPPED EXCEEDED YOUR AUTHORIZED WEIGHT ALLOWANCE BY 956 POUNDS YOU WERE REQUIRED TO PAY $101.34 AS THE EXCESS COST OF THE SHIPMENT FROM STORAGE. IN YOUR LETTER OF APRIL 6, 1961, YOU REQUESTED THAT THAT CHARGE BE RE EVALUATED, CONTENDING THAT IT DID NOT PROPERLY CREDIT YOU WITH THE TOTAL WEIGHT OF PROFESSIONAL BOOKS AND EQUIPMENT BUT REFLECTS ONLY THE WEIGHT OF SUCH ITEMS ON A PART OF THE TOTAL SHIPMENT.

BY LETTER OF AUGUST 21, 1961, YOU FURNISHED A WEIGHT CERTIFICATE DATED JULY 20, 1961, SHOWING THE WEIGHT OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL EQUIPMENT AS 740 POUNDS; ALSO, A RECEIPT SHOWING THAT ON NOVEMBER 27, 1946,YOU REMITTED $85.90 AS THE COST OF SHIPPING 845 POUNDS OF EXCESS HOUSEHOLD GOODS ON A SHIPMENT MADE IN THAT YEAR. IN YOUR PRESENT LETTER YOU SAY YOU HAVE COMPLIED WITH THE REGULATIONS IN THAT ON EACH MOVE YOU INDICATED ON THE APPLICATION FOR SHIPMENT THAT YOU HAD PROFESSIONAL BOOKS AND EQUIPMENT, AND VERBALLY INFORMED THE MOVERS OF THAT FACT BUT THAT YOU WERE PENALIZED ON TWO OCCASIONS THROUGH THE FAULT OF THE MOVERS IN NOT PROPERLY RECORDING THE WEIGHT OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL ITEMS. ALSO, YOU CONTEND THAT THE WEIGHT CERTIFICATE OF JULY 20, 1961, EXECUTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE MOVEMENT OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS UPON RETIREMENT, ESTABLISHES THAT YOUR PROFESSIONAL ITEMS EQUALLED OR EXCEEDED 700 TO 800 POUNDS ON EACH MOVE.

WHEN THE 1950 SHIPMENT OF YOUR EFFECTS WAS MADE THE SHIPMENT OF HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES WAS GOVERNED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 10053, DATED APRIL 20, 1949. PARAGRAPH 3 OF THAT ORDER PROVIDED THAT WHEN CERTIFIED BY THE MEMBER AS NECESSARY IN THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS OFFICIAL DUTIES, SHIPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL BOOKS, PAPERS AND EQUIPMENT COULD BE MADE WITHOUT CHARGE AGAINST THE PRESCRIBED WEIGHT ALLOWANCE PROVIDED THAT SUCH ITEMS WERE PACKED SEPARATELY, THE CONTAINERS MARKED "PROFESSIONAL BOOKS, PAPERS AND EQUIPMENT," AND THE WEIGHT OF SUCH PACKED CONTAINERS SHOWN SEPARATELY ON THE BILLS OF LADING OR OTHER SHIPPING DOCUMENTS. WHEN THE NEXT TWO SHIPMENTS WERE MADE SIMILAR PROVISIONS WERE CONTAINED IN PARAGRAPH 8003 OF THE JOINT TRAVEL REGULATIONS. THUS, UNDER CONTROLLING REGULATIONS THE WEIGHT OF PROFESSIONAL BOOKS, PAPERS AND EQUIPMENT IS ESTABLISHED AT THE TIME OF SHIPMENT. SINCE THE NUMBER AND WEIGHT OF SUCH ITEMS SHIPPED AS WELL AS THE PACKING MATERIALS USED VARIES FROM SHIPMENT TO SHIPMENT THERE IS NO BASIS ON WHICH THIS OFFICE MAY SUBSEQUENTLY CONCLUDE THAT THE WEIGHT OF PROFESSIONAL BOOKS, PAPERS AND EQUIPMENT IN A PARTICULAR SHIPMENT WAS OTHER THAN SHOWN ON THE BILL OF LADING OR OTHER SHIPPING DOCUMENTS WHEN THE SHIPMENT WAS MADE. SINCE THE EXCESS COST OF YOUR VARIOUS SHIPMENTS WAS COMPUTED WITH PROPER ALLOWANCE MADE FOR THE WEIGHT OF PROFESSIONAL ITEMS, IF ANY, AS THEN SHOWN BY THE SHIPPING RECORDS, THERE IS NO LEGAL BASIS FOR THE ALLOWANCE OF YOUR CLAIM. THEREFORE, THE SETTLEMENT WAS CORRECT AND IS SUSTAINED.