Bacchus Associates, a New York partnership, purchased fruit from Morocco. Bacchus shipped the fruit on a ship owned by M. H. Martima, S.A., a Panamanian company. The shipment contract provided that any dispute between the shipper (Bacchus) and the carrier (Martima) would be governed by Japanese law and arbitrated in Tokyo by the Tokyo Maritime Arbitration Commission. During shipment, the fruit shifted in the cargo holds, resulting in over $1 million damages. Bacchus sued Martima for damages and asked the court to invalidate the arbitration and choice-of-law clauses on the grounds that they increased the transaction costs of obtaining damages from the carrier and put a hurdle in the way of enforcing liability, thereby violating the COGSA prohibition against attempts by carriers to reduce their liability for negligence. Was Bacchus correct?
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