What happened: Chubb alleges FedEx lost three pallets and delivered four others damaged during an interstate electronics shipment
Who's involved: Chubb Insurance Australia Limited (subrogated insurer), FedEx Freight (carrier), Blackmagic Design (shipper)
What's at stake: $354,396.06 in damages for lost and damaged cargo
Why it matters: The claim-handling argument is a practical flag for cargo claims and subrogation teams
Where it stands: Complaint filed October 27, 2026, in US federal court
Seven pallets of electronic equipment left Livermore, California, bound for New Jersey. According to a new federal lawsuit, only four made it - and those showed signs of tampering.
Chubb Insurance Australia Limited is suing FedEx Freight, alleging the carrier lost nearly half a shipment of electronics and then left the resulting cargo claim in limbo.
The complaint, filed October 27, 2026, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, says Blackmagic Design - the Australian video technology company known for its cinema cameras and DaVinci Resolve editing software - contracted with FedEx on or about May 31, 2022, to ship 172 cartons of electronic equipment on seven pallets from Livermore to a consignee in Hazlet, New Jersey. The shipment weighed 5,772 pounds.
FedEx picked up the cargo with no exceptions noted, according to the filing.
Ten days later, according to the complaint, FedEx arrived at the delivery point with four pallets instead of seven. Three were gone. The remaining four "displayed signs of damage and/or tampering," the filing states. The consignee rejected the shipment.
Chubb insured the cargo under a policy issued to Blackmagic Design. Having paid out the loss, it now pursues FedEx as the insurer stepping into its customer's shoes - what the industry calls subrogation.
The complaint puts the value of the damaged cargo at $228,482.50, including apportioned freight cost and less salvage. But the total claim is for $354,396.06, described in the filing as "the value of the Cargo lost and/or stolen," with a separate request for additional damages, costs, and interest.
What may catch the attention of claims professionals is the allegation about how FedEx handled the claim itself. According to the complaint, Chubb lodged a timely claim under the Carmack Amendment - the federal law that makes carriers responsible for goods lost or damaged in interstate shipping.
FedEx initially issued what the filing calls a "purported denial." Then it reopened the claim.
Then nothing. The claim "was never denied," the complaint states.
Chubb argues FedEx has "waived and/or is estopped from asserting a denial of the claim due to its claim activities after its initial, purported denial." In plain terms: Chubb says that by reopening the file and then sitting on it, FedEx gave up the right to deny the claim at all.
For cargo claims teams, that argument is worth watching - it says how a carrier manages its claim file after a loss, not just the loss itself, can shape the legal fight that follows.
The allegations have not been tested, and no court has ruled on the merits.
