Wednesday, April 1, 1998 | 9:54 a.m.
A District Court lawsuit has been filed against United Parcel Services over a pair of packages sent by a jewelry store in Las Vegas to a branch store in Seattle in 1997 that never arrived.
Earl Hawley, the attorney for the Jewelry and Coin Palace, said these weren't the first packages lost by UPS of the hundreds shipped by the store, but these were the first where UPS wouldn't pay the insurance claim.
The lawsuit stated a June 1997 package contained a gold chain and a diamond ring that were insured for $10,000. A July 1997 package held four diamond rings and the insurance coverage totaled $12,000.
Hawley indicated in court documents that UPS demanded proof of the value of the jewelry and was sent copies of receipts.
But UPS then required independent proof of the existence of the lost items, Hawley said, noting that the packages were lost during the time of the UPS strike.
Hawley said that wasn't possible because "the items contained in the packages were obtained from individuals who did not keep transactional records of the sale of personal property."
The attorney stated in the lawsuit that he demanded that UPS tell him why proof of the contents of the packages is required for payment of the insurance claim but "UPS did not comply."
UPS also has not returned calls by the SUN for comment about the lawsuit.
Hawley said the lost packages and even the trouble collecting the insurance claim has not soured the jewelry store which still sends about 15 packages a months through the carrier.
He noted that since last summer UPS lost another package and paid the insurance claim without problem.
"My client has used UPS for over a decade and this is the first time they have had a problem," Hawley said.
archive
