In 1958, the insurer Alpina Compagnia di Assicurazioni SA (ACA), in subrogation of the consignee Spe Ri Da's rights, sued Ditta Hugo Trumpy (HT) as the agent of the Leo in the Tribunal of Genoa for a claim of cargo damage related to a contract of carriage of salted fish covered by bills of lading. The fish was found to be wet. ACA also sued the shipowner Jens P Bager (JPB). HT argued that JPB was not liable for the obligations of the contract of carriage, as the ship was chartered to Gunnar Gudjonsson. In addition, in HT's view, the bills of lading did not include any reference to JPB. The Tribunal of Genoa agreed with ACA concerning the identification of the carrier. HT appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal of Genoa.

Held: The appeal is dismissed regarding the identification of the carrier.

The Court argued that being a ship’s agent does not imply a unique reference to the shipowner or the charterer-carrier.

Moreover, the Court noted that the bill of lading is to be considered valid if it contains the date, the description of the nature, quantity, and quality of the cargo loaded, and the signature of the master of the ship.

The Court concluded that the carrier corresponded to the shipowner in this case, as the charterparty was not adequately documented.

However, the Court found that the carrier was not liable for cargo damage, as an excepted peril of the shipper’s fault applied. In particular, the shipper needed to stow the fish properly. On the other hand, ACA argued that the stowage issue depended on the ship’s equipment, and so recalled the carrier’s seaworthiness duty. However, the Court did not find evidence on this point. In conclusion, the Court ordered further proceedings concerning the dispute's merits.