Trend Export Funding Corp. v. Foreign Credit Insurance

670 F. Supp. 480, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16767
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 2, 1987
DocketNo. 84 Civ. 4839 (LBS)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 670 F. Supp. 480 (Trend Export Funding Corp. v. Foreign Credit Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trend Export Funding Corp. v. Foreign Credit Insurance, 670 F. Supp. 480, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16767 (S.D.N.Y. 1987).

Opinion

SAND, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Trend Export Funding Corporation (“TEFCO”), an international business broker, alleges that defendant, Foreign Credit Insurance Association (“FCIA”), an insurer of such transactions, wrongfully failed to pay on two claims properly submitted by plaintiff totalling $7,060,597.61 plus interest. Defendant has moved pursuant to Rule 56, F.R.Civ.P., for summary judgment and for an order staying discovery. Defendant has also moved for leave to file an amended counterclaim. Plaintiff has cross-moved for summary judgment.1

The underlying facts giving rise to this lawsuit are as follows: TEFCO is in the business of arranging financing for the purchase of vehicles and equipment by foreign entities from United States manufacturers. Affidavit of Philip T. Amico, former Vice President of TEFCO (“Amico Aff.”) at 114. From November 1981 until April 1982, TEFCO provided the financing for certain vehicles sold by General Motors Overseas Distribution Corp. (“GMODC”) and certain tractors sold by H.O. Penn Machinery Co., Inc. (“Penn”) to Saleh Ben Abd-El Wahab Company (“El Wahab”), of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. To secure these two business deals against commercial risks, TEFCO obtained separate insurance policies from FCIA. Id. at 116. FCIA is an unincorporated association of insurance companies which, pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 635(c)(2), acts as an agent for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (“Eximbank”) in making available export credit insurance to United States exporters. Affidavit of Mary Coffey, claims supervisor at FCIA (“Coffey Aff.”) at ¶ 2. FCIA issued a medium term-single sale insurance policy (the “single-sale policy”) to cover the single sale of the Penn equipment, and a medium term-multiple sale comprehensive export credit insurance policy (the “repetitive-sale policy”) to cover the multiple GMODC shipments. Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment at 7. With respect to each specific transaction arranged by TEFCO, FCIA issued separate “transaction endorsements” identifying the given transaction and containing special conditions of coverage. Coffey Aff. at 11 5.

[482]*482The GMODC vehicles and the Penn tractors were shipped to El Wahab, which later defaulted on making the bulk of its payments. In June of 1988, TEFCO filed with FCIA under each of the two policies a separate “notice of claim and proof of loss.” After an exchange of letters between the parties, FCIA took the position that it would not pay TEFCO under either policy, prompting TEFCO to bring this action.

MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

In its motion for summary judgment, FCIA avers that it has no liability to TEF-CO for the claims in dispute because TEF-CO failed to meet those conditions in each insurance policy that triggers FCIA’s duty to compensate TEFCO. Specifically, FCIA asserts that both claims were properly denied because TEFCO had allowed the goods to be shipped to El Wahab before El Wahab had made certain required cash down payments. Alternatively, FCIA contends that TEFCO’s claims are time-barred by express time limits stated in the policies. Further, FCIA urges that with respect to the repetitive-sale policy that covered the GMODC vehicles, FCIA need not pay TEF-CO on certain of those claims because TEF-CO had failed to pay FCIA the required insurance premiums or because, contrary to the terms of the policy, the goods shipped to El Wahab were not of American origin. TEFCO cross-moves for summary judgment, asserting that it has met all the conditions precedent to payment by FICA under the policies in question and that the policies are in full force and effect.

For the reasons explained herein, we grant that part of defendant’s motion for summary judgment that relates to plaintiff’s claims regarding the GMODC vehicles noted above. We deny defendant’s motions for summary judgment on the remainder of plaintiff’s claims, granting leave for defendant to renew the motion after more discovery is taken. And, finally, we deny plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment.

We address first that portion of defendant’s summary judgment motion that relates to plaintiff’s entire cause of action.

I. PLAINTIFF’S PURPORTED FAILURE TO OBTAIN CASH DOWN PAYMENTS

[1] Article III of both the single-sale and repetitive-sale policies provides:

III. Definitions

As used in this policy
A. “insured transaction” means a sale or sales approved by the Insurers on the conditions specified in the Transaction Endorsement; provided the products sold are:
3. sold for United States dollars on terms which require:
a. that the buyer make a cash payment on or before delivery of the products to the buyer at least equal to such amount as may be specified in such Transaction Endorsement; ...

Defendant contends that this language makes clear that the buyer must make a cash down payment at least equal to an amount called for in the transaction endorsement — in this case, 15 percent for each transaction — before a given commercial transaction rises to the level of an “insured transaction” under the policy. Defendant further contends that plaintiff never in fact obtained those payments from El Wahab.

Plaintiff counters by focusing on the phrase “terms which require” in Section III A.3 supra and urges that this language means that the buyer El Wahab need not actually make a cash down payment, but merely agree to make the payment, which plaintiff alleges El Wahab did indeed do. Moreover, plaintiff contends, the alleged requirement that TEFCO obtain a down payment is not a material term of the policy and therefore its breach cannot be used to excuse FCIA’s performance. Alternatively, plaintiff argues, if the policy is indeed interpreted to require that the actual down payment be made, then more discovery is needed to determine whether the [483]*483appropriate payments have in fact been made. Finally, plaintiff contends that defendant has either waived its right to raise or should be estopped from raising the “cash down payment” condition of the insurance policy because after defendant had learned of El Wahab’s potential default, defendant had stated it would entertain a rescheduling of El Wahab’s debts if TEF-CO provided detailed reasons why such a rescheduling was necessary.

For the reasons that follow, we find that the policy required that a 15 percent down payment actually be made, that this requirement was a material condition of the policy and that FCIA neither waived its right to assert that defense nor is it es-topped from asserting it. Finally, we find that TEFCO is entitled to certain limited discovery to determine whether El Wahab did indeed make the required payments.

We find, as defendant contends, that the above-quoted Section III, which appears in both policies, clearly and unambiguously calls for a cash down payment to in fact be made. We note that while an ambiguity in a contract raises a factual question about the intention of the parties that is not usually amenable to summary judgment, “[t]he preliminary question of whether an ambiguity exists is a question of law that may be resolved summarily by the court.” 10 A Wright & Miller; Federal Practice & Procedure § 2730.1 at 275-79 (1983).

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Related

Trend Export Fund v. Foreign Credit Ins
847 F.2d 837 (Second Circuit, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
670 F. Supp. 480, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16767, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trend-export-funding-corp-v-foreign-credit-insurance-nysd-1987.