BII Finance Co. v. U-States Forwarding Services Corp.

Introduction

Defendant U-States Forwarding Services Corp. (U-States), appeals a judgment against it in favor of plaintiff BII Finance Company Ltd. (BII) in the amount of $74,060.76, plus costs in the amount of $7,069.57 and attorneys’ fees in the amount of $30,222.07. Judgment was entered following a court trial. The parties waived the statement of decision. BII, the shipper’s assignee, prevailed on its claim that U-States, the shipping carrier, was liable for delivering goods without requiring surrender by the purchaser of the original bills of lading. In this case, the purchaser had not paid for the goods. The judgment was also entered against Primaline, Inc. (Primaline), the shipping carrier’s agent, pursuant to a default. Primaline does not appeal.

A bill of lading that is consigned “To Order,” without designating a named person, arguably may not be a negotiable document under California Uniform Commercial Code section 7104, subdivision (1). If it is not, the bill of lading nonetheless should be treated as a negotiable document under California Uniform Commercial Code section 7104, subdivision (3) in this case. The trial court correctly found that U-States was…