Crosby & Co. v. Compagnie Nationale Air France

76 Misc. 2d 990, 352 N.Y.S.2d 75, 1973 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1190
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJune 5, 1973
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 76 Misc. 2d 990 (Crosby & Co. v. Compagnie Nationale Air France) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crosby & Co. v. Compagnie Nationale Air France, 76 Misc. 2d 990, 352 N.Y.S.2d 75, 1973 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1190 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1973).

Opinion

Sidney H. Asch, J.

This is an action to recover damages in the sum of $100,000 constituting alleged lost profits resulting from a breach of contract of carriage with respect to a shipment of horse meat from New York City to Toulouse, France. Plaintiff alleges that it delivered a shipment of horse meat to defendant in sound, wholesome condition for transportation by air by the defendant for delivery to one Marino Bondi in Toulouse, France, but that said shipment was not delivered in a sound and wholesome condition and, as a result, the consignee rescinded its contract for future shipments.

Plaintiff alleges that defendant was a party to a tri-party agreement set forth in plaintiff’s letter of February 1, 1968 and Air France’s letter of February 16, 1968, whereby plaintiff sold to the said Marino Bondi of Toulouse, France, a quantity of horse meat to be transported by air by the defendant. Defendant contends that it was not a party to the contract of sale but acted in the capacity of common carrier of cargo by air and at all relevant times was otherwise acting only in the capacity of agent for the transmittal of funds from the consignee, Marino Bondi, to plaintiff.

Defendant received the goods in controversy from plaintiff, together with a sight draft representing the purchase price, for delivery to said Marino Bondi, in Toulouse, France. In its capacity as agent for the transmittal of funds, defendant collected the purchase price from Marino Bondi prior to delivery of the goods and transmitted it to the plaintiff. Subsequently, the entire shipment was found to be in a putrefied state and was condemned by the French health authorities;

Thereafter, the consignee, Marino Bondi, rescinded the contract with plaintiff and, on or about May, 1968, commenced an action in the Republic of France against defendant Air France to recover the sum of money he had theretofore paid prior to [992]*992delivery of the trial shipment. On or about June 18, 1969, the Court of Commerce of Toulouse, France, postponed rendering judgment in this action. The plaintiff Bondi appealed, and on or about May 26,1970, the Court of Appeals of Toulouse, France renderéd judgment in favor of Air France on the merits.

The present action was commenced on November 1, 1968, and issue was joined by service of an answer on December 12, 1968. Pursuant to court order, defendant served an amended answer on or about December 31, 1968, and a second amended answer on or about April 30, 1969. Both amended answers included counterclaims against the plaintiff for the price of a. ticket used by an employee of plaintiff who accompanied the shipment in controversy.

On or about December 27, 1968, plaintiff moved to dismiss defendant Air France’s affirmative defenses. After defendant’s amended answer and counterclaim were served, on or about December 31, 1968, the plaintiff amended its notice of motion and moved to dismiss the affirmative defenses in the amended answer, which affirmative defenses are precisely the same as those included in the present second amended answer. Plaintiff’s motion to dismiss the defendant’s affirmative defenses was ‘ ‘ on the ground that they respectively failed to set forth the material elements of a defense and failed to state a defense and, on their face, have no merit ’ ’. In its memorandum in support of its motion plaintiff argued, inter alia, that defendant’s defenses based on the conditions and provisions of defendant’s air waybill had no relevancy to the cause of action pleaded in the complaint since the complaint did not seek recovery of the value of the shipment or any part of the value. For the same reason, plaintiff argued that the Warsaw Convention provisions were also not applicable and that defenses based thereon were legally insufficient. On or about March 11, 1969, the Honorable Irving H. Saypol found these defenses to be legally sufficient and denied plaintiff’s motion to dismiss them.

Defendant has denied and continues to deny, inter alia, that the plaintiff’s description of the facts forming the bases of this action is accurate. However, for the purposes of this motion for summary judgment, except as hereinafter noted, defendant has assumed, arguendo, the accuracy of plaintiff’s factual allegations (not the legal conclusions) in paragraphs 5 through 8 of plaintiff’s complaint and paragraphs 2 through 10,12 through 17, 19, 20 and 22 of the plaintiff’s bill of particulars. Even under such an assumption as to the accuracy of alleged facts, defendant is not liable to the plaintiff for. the damages it claims [993]*993to have sustained as a result of defendant’s alleged breach of contract.

Since 1969, this significant commercial controversy has been percolating through the courts, interrupted by intermittent motions. The attorneys have been flailing at each other with such basic concepts of the law of contracts as ‘1 lack of consideration ” and ‘ lack of mutuality ’ ’. But these first-year law school principles are artificial constructs which were invented by the great common-law Judges to insure that the parties had actually made a firm bargain. In this case, these ideas conceal rather than reveal' the essential questions in controversy. Did the parties herein make a firm commitment with each other? To what did each of the parties obligate itself? When analyzed in these terms, the problems of the case are not difficult to resolve.

Air France’s only legal obligation under the alleged agreement was to act as a transfer agent of funds for Marino Bondi. Plaintiff’s letter of February 7, 1968, in discussing its letter of February 1, specifically states the plaintiff’s understanding that Air France was not the buyer under the agreement but was ‘ ‘ merely acting as transmittal agents of funds for Marino Bondi ”. Additionally, Air France’s letter response of February 16, 1968, reflects its understanding that its only responsibility was as a transmittal agent for Marino Bondi’s funds. That Air France letter specifically set forth in section 6 the extent of Air France’s responsibility, as follows:

“ 6. Air France Responsibility
" Inasmuch as the payment of the meat will be made by Air France, it must however be understood and agreed that Air France will not assume any liability for payments in case M amisto Borroi fails to deposit with Air France the necessary funds as hereinabove provided.
‘ ‘ At the same time Air France will not be liable in any contingencies resulting between the shipper and the consignee, except as hereinabove indicated. ’ ’

Consequently, there was no question at the time the alleged agreement was entered into that the only obligation that could have been legally imposed upon Air France under the agreement was to act as a transmittal agent for Marino Bondi’s funds. Plaintiff cannot now argue that Air France is liable under the alleged agreement for the breach of an obligation which that agreement did not legally impose. Any obligation of Air France to avoid wrongful acts or omissions in transporting the trial shipment to France did not arise under the alleged agreement.

[994]*994It is quite probable that Air France would never have agreed to act as a transmittal agent for Bondi’s funds and never would have transported the trial meat shipment had there been any suggestion or intimation that the plaintiff would seek to hold Air France liable for its total lost profits if the trial shipment was improperly handled by Air France.

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Bluebook (online)
76 Misc. 2d 990, 352 N.Y.S.2d 75, 1973 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crosby-co-v-compagnie-nationale-air-france-nysupct-1973.