Studwell, Inc. v. Korean Exchange Bank
Opinion
Opinion
Ortega, J.
We hold that a beneficiary’s interest in an executory letter of credit is not property of the beneficiary subject to attachment by a party in other litigation. We affirm the judgment for defendant.
Facts
From late 1989 through early 1990, several American contractors disassembled a machine in South Carolina and shipped it to South Korea, where they reassembled and repaired it for Hyundai Heavy Industries, Co., Ltd. Plaintiff Studwell, Incorporated, a California corporation located in Los Angeles, worked on this project under contract with Pacific Economic Development Corp. (PED), which had a contract with Hyundai. PED, doing business as CRSN Machine Tools Company, is a California corporation based in Carson.
Hyundai arranged to pay PED for the machine through a letter of credit. Upon Hyundai’s application, Banque Paribas Seoul issued an irrevocable documentary credit for $2.8 million in favor of PED on August 11, 1988. The letter of credit stated that it was to be governed by the provisions of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (1983 rev.) International Chamber of Commerce, Publication No. 400 (UCP-ICC).