Court Opinion

ID: 9464212
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 23:27:35.944464+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:38:30.791461
License: Public Domain

GEORGE B. HARRIS, District Judge,
concurring in the result:
Although I believe that the result reached here is the proper one, I offer a comment on the route used to reach it.
The May 16, 1973 letter from Allied, which stated that Allied “cannot accept any liability” for the mirrors in question, appeared to give notice to Cordingley that his claim was being disallowed. See, e. g., North American Philips v. Emery Air Freight, 432 F.Supp. 519, 521 (S.D.N.Y. 1977). My Brethren, however, adopt the “totality of conduct” test articulated by the district court below and re-interpret this letter in the light of the later correspondence between the parties.
Under the “totality of conduct” test, Allied’s May 16 letter cannot be held to have amounted to a final disallowance of Cord-ingley’s claim, although this approach skirts dangerously close to the “no waiver — no estoppel” rule which has grown up in this area. Perhaps justice would be better served if we were to find that equitable considerations are indeed appropriate to reach a just result and thereby avoid the harshness which has characterized several earlier decisions on similar fact situations.
I concur.