Man wins suit over elk-steak shipment

BANGOR – Maine hunting buddies William L. Varney of Bangor and Edward Hennessey Jr. of Marshfield have sworn off brown.

Not the color itself, just the shipping company known for its brown panel trucks and employee uniforms.

Both men sued UPS earlier this year after the shipping giant refused to reimburse them for the spoiled elk steaks the firm mistakenly shipped in October 2003 via ground instead of by air from Colorado to Maine.

Last month, Varney won his suit in 3rd District Court in Bangor. He was awarded more than $3,218; that included $2,800 for 70 pounds of elk meat at $40 per pound, $205 for the cost of processing the meat and $213.66 for shipping.

District Court Judge Robert Murray denied the $1,000 reimbursement for airfare and the elk-hunting license that Varney had sought.

Hennessey is awaiting a decision on his case from Maine Superior Court Justice E. Allen Hunter, who presided on Nov. 3 at a jury-waived trial in Washington County Superior Court.

Efforts to reach UPS attorney Stephen Burlock of Bangor on Monday were unsuccessful.

Originally, Hennessey was awarded the same amount of money that Varney was when UPS did not appear at the trial in 4th District Court in Machias. UPS won a new trial in Superior Court on appeal after the firm proved it had not been properly notified of the first trial.

Varney, who owns an insurance agency in Bangor, and Hennessey, the president of Machias Savings Bank, have been hunting together for years. Their annual elk hunts to Kremmling, Colo., had gone well until 2003.

“We wouldn’t have pursued this if UPS had admitted their mistake,” Varney said on Monday. “They were so nasty. In the beginning they refused to talk about a settlement. We said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and decided to pursue legal action.”

UPS claimed that because the shipping form filled out by the Colorado firm that processed the meat and prepared it for shipment did not declare a value for it, UPS was obligated to pay each man only $100 – the highest amount it is liable for if no value is declared on the bill of lading.

Murray disagreed in his order dated Nov. 16. He wrote that it would be unfair to permit UPS to avoid liability because the firm had made the decision to ship the meat over ground rather than by air.

Efforts on Tuesday to reach Hennessey were unsuccessful.

Varney said on Monday that he was glad he had pursued the case, even though most of the award would go to pay legal fees. He also no longer ships anything on UPS.

“I’m now a good Fed Ex customer,” he said.