91 A.D.2d 895 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1983
— Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Grossman, J.), entered March 25, 1982, denying the parties’ motions for summary judgment, unanimously modified, on the law, by granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, and as modified, affirmed, with costs. Each party moved for summary judgment. Plaintiff Dorf Overseas Inc. maintained that defendant Chemical Bank had improperly honored an irrevocable letter of credit and charged its account in the sum of $15,805.50. Plaintiff contended that it had previously notified defendant not to make payment under the letter because the goods had not passed inspection by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The plaintiff charged that defendant had violated various provisions of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Commercial Documentary Credits (UCP), which controlled this letter of credit. The additional proof developed by the defendant in its papers shows that plaintiff’s claim was unfounded. The letter of credit contained a food and drug clause permitting defendant to forward invoices and shipping documents to plaintiff before payment was made. Wing Lung Bank was the negotiating bank for the exporter, Unique Products. Wing Lung forwarded its collection letter with the necessary documentation and an authorization permitting the documents to be turned over to plaintiff, before payment, for purposes of FDA approval. The collection letter contained this noteworthy clause: “In case of non-acceptance after inspection, please return the full set of documents to us by express registered airmail.” The defendant forwarded the documents to plaintiff so that FDA approval could be obtained. Subsequently, a portion of the goods