Court Opinion

ID: 9950814
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-14 20:10:08.437041+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:36:50.373735
License: Public Domain

W. R. Cobb Co. v Ross Metals Corp.
               2024 NY Slip Op 30775(U)
                     March 11, 2024
           Supreme Court, New York County
        Docket Number: Index No. 160762/2022
                  Judge: Arlene P. Bluth
Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip
 Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York
 State and local government sources, including the New
  York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service.
 This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official
                       publication.
                                                                                                                        INDEX NO. 160762/2022
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57                                                                                              RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/11/2024

                                   SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
                                             NEW YORK COUNTY
            PRESENT:             HON. ARLENE P. BLUTH                                               PART                              14
                                                                                      Justice
            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X      INDEX NO.          160762/2022
             W. R. COBB COMPANY,
                                                                                                    MOTION DATE         02/29/2024
                                                         Plaintiff,
                                                                                                    MOTION SEQ. NO.         002
                                                 -v-
             ROSS METALS CORPORATION, ANGEL ROSS                                                      DECISION + ORDER ON
                                                                                                            MOTION
                                                         Defendant.
            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

            The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 002) 21, 22, 23, 24, 25,
            26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54,
            55, 56
            were read on this motion to/for                                                      JUDGMENT - SUMMARY                   .

                      Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment is denied.

            Background

                      Plaintiff contends that it entered into an agreement with defendant Ross Metals

            Corporation (“Ross Metals”) wherein it was to provide jewelry materials. It asserts that

            defendant Angel Ross is Ross Metals’ president and that he signed a personal guarantee in

            connection with Ross’ purchases. Plaintiff claims it sent goods and defendants have refused to

            pay.

                      It moves for summary judgment and includes a document from November 2012 entitled

            “Domestic Customer Application Required for USA Patriot Act” (NYSCEF Doc. No. 29).

            Angel Ross signed a personal guarantee at the end of this document, which appears to

            contemplate that Ross Metals would purchase jewelry from plaintiff (id.). However, there are no

            specifics about how much Ross Metals was purchasing; in fact, the section that queries how

             160762/2022 W. R. COBB COMPANY vs. ROSS METALS CORPORATION ET AL                                           Page 1 of 6
             Motion No. 002

                                                                           1 of 6
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  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57                                                                       RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/11/2024

            much Ross Metals planned to buy each month “in diamonds” is left blank (id.). Plaintiff also

            includes invoices that it claims show that defendants failed to pay for the shipments it sent.

                    In opposition, Angel Ross claims that it is his practice to pay for goods after they are

            delivered and acknowledges that his company, Ross Metals, purchased goods from plaintiff for

            many years (NYSCEF Doc. No. 37 at 1). However, he claims he did not receive the goods in

            question here and that he did not receive the subject invoices until 2022 (id.). Mr. Ross insists he

            promptly objected to those invoices after he received them (id.). He claims that “In January

            2022, I discussed this issue with Plaintiff. I informed them that I was not going to pay these

            amounts without proof of delivery” and that “As I have stated to Plaintiff on numerous

            occasions, if they can show that the products I ordered were actually delivered to me, I will pay

            for them” (id. ¶¶ 6, 7).

                    In reply, plaintiff includes an “affirmation” from Mary White (plaintiff’s credit manager)

            who points to various notes she took about plaintiff’s shipments to Ross Metals. She points to

            UPS shipping sheet which she claims shows that the goods defendants ordered were shipped.

            Ms. White also claims she found a pickup summary from UPS which shows that these items

            were “picked up” by UPS. She contends that on January 28, 2022, defendants emailed plaintiff to

            say that the goods were not delivered and so she reached out to UPS. Ms. White observes that

            UPS told her too much time had passed to file a “lost package claim.”

            Discussion

                    To be entitled to the remedy of summary judgment, the moving party “must make a

            prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, tendering sufficient evidence

            to demonstrate the absence of any material issues of fact from the case” (Winegrad v New York

             160762/2022 W. R. COBB COMPANY vs. ROSS METALS CORPORATION ET AL                      Page 2 of 6
             Motion No. 002

                                                          2 of 6
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                                                                                                  INDEX NO. 160762/2022
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57                                                                      RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/11/2024

            Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 NY2d 851, 853, 487 NYS2d 316 [1985]). The failure to make such a prima

            facie showing requires denial of the motion, regardless of the sufficiency of any opposing papers

            (id.). When deciding a summary judgment motion, the court views the alleged facts in the light

            most favorable to the non-moving party (Sosa v 46th St. Dev. LLC, 101 AD3d 490, 492 [1st Dept

            2012]).

                      Once a movant meets its initial burden, the burden shifts to the opponent, who must then

            produce sufficient evidence to establish the existence of a triable issue of fact (Zuckerman v City

            of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 560, 427 NYS2d 595 [1980]). The court’s task in deciding a

            summary judgment motion is to determine whether there are bonafide issues of fact and not to

            delve into or resolve issues of credibility (Vega v Restani Constr. Corp., 18 NY3d 499, 505, 942

            NYS2d 13 [2012]). If the court is unsure whether a triable issue of fact exists, or can reasonably

            conclude that fact is arguable, the motion must be denied (Tronlone v Lac d'Amiante Du Quebec,

            Ltee, 297 AD2d 528, 528-29, 747 NYS2d 79 [1st Dept 2002], affd 99 NY2d 647, 760 NYS2d 96

            [2003]).

                      The Court denies the motion. As a preliminary finding, the Court observes that plaintiff

            did not meet its prima facie burden in it moving papers. The affidavit of Mary White is simply

            too conclusory and devoid of key details concerning the purported shipments to Ross Metals. For

            instance, Ms. White contends that “Defendants' default began on or around October 13, 2021

            when the Defendants failed to remit payment to Plaintiff for goods provided to Defendants after

            Plaintiff provided an invoice for the goods” (NYSCEF Doc. No. 24, ¶ 8)). There are no details

            provided showing that plaintiff actually sent the invoices to defendants, when it sent the invoices,

            how they were sent or any proof that the goods were delivered. And Ms. White also contends

            that “After giving Defendants credit for all payments and credits, there is still due and owing the

             160762/2022 W. R. COBB COMPANY vs. ROSS METALS CORPORATION ET AL                     Page 3 of 6
             Motion No. 002

                                                           3 of 6
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                                                                                                     INDEX NO. 160762/2022
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57                                                                        RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/11/2024

            total sum of $54,773.55” (id. ¶ 9) but Ms. White does not provide or specifically mention what

            payments were made by defendants, how much, or when.

                   A review of the invoices, uploaded as a single 35-page exhibit, raises even more

            questions. There are invoices dated January 13, 2022 and January 28, 2022, February 1, 2022,

            February 14, 2022 and March 14, 2022 but Ms. White’s affidavit (the only document submitted

            by someone with personal knowledge in support of the motion) makes no reference to these

            invoices. She only cites that there was a default by defendants “on or around October 13, 2021.”

                   Even if the Court could find that plaintiff satisfied its prima facie burden through the

            invoices, Mr. Ross raised a material issue of fact by claiming that he objected to these invoices

            after finally receiving them because he never received the goods.

                   Plaintiff’s reply affirmation makes clear that there are issues of fact. In it, plaintiff’s

            attorney contends that “the purpose of this reply is to contest the credibility of the opposition

            submitted by Defendants in that the statements alleged are incorrect” (NYSCEF Doc. No. 48).

            Of course, it is axiomatic that “a credibility issue may not be resolved on a motion for summary

            judgment” (Art Capital Group, LLC v Rose, 149 AD3d 447, 448, 52 NYS3d 85 [1st Dept 2017]).

            To the extent that plaintiff attempts to attach UPS shipment details and purported notes from

            plaintiff’s employees, that is improper as a party cannot raise issues for the first time in reply

            (JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v Luxor Capital, LLC, 101 AD3d 575, 576, 957 NYS2d 45 [1st

            Dept 2012]).

                   Even if the Court could consider the plethora of exhibits submitted for the first time in

            reply, they do not establish that plaintiff is entitled to summary judgment. The notes generated

            by Ms. White, even if they are admissible, suggest that defendants timely raised questions about

            whether the shipments were actually delivered to defendants (NYSCEF Doc. No. 42). In fact, in

             160762/2022 W. R. COBB COMPANY vs. ROSS METALS CORPORATION ET AL                        Page 4 of 6
             Motion No. 002

                                                           4 of 6
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  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57                                                                       RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/11/2024

            one instance, Ms. White noted that “no delivery info available” in a note dated January 28, 2022

            (id.). And plaintiff included email correspondence in which Ross Metals requested proof of

            delivery and Ms. White responded that she was sending a lost package claim (NYSCEF Doc. No.

            46).

                   The notes of a sale representative for plaintiff (who did not submit an affidavit) also do

            not compel the Court to grant plaintiff summary judgment. These handwritten notes do not show

            as a matter of law that the items were delivered to defendants and when. Moreover, the shipping

            sheet dated October 13, 2021 lists Ross Metals as well as many other entities (NYSCEF Doc.

            No. 44). This does not show that items were picked up by a carrier and delivered to defendants.

            And neither does the UPS pickup report as it is a single page document with a bar code

            (NYSCEF Doc. No. 45). Of course, these two exhibits would appear to relate only to a shipment

            in October 2021 and not the later shipments for which plaintiff seeks recovery.

                   The central issue on this motion is that defendants claim that they never received these

            goods and plaintiff did not show any dispositive and specific proof that these shipments were

            delivered. Plaintiff makes a curious argument in reply that “A contract for goods is generally

            completed when the goods are given to the courier to deliver to the buyer” (NYSCEF Doc. No.

            48, ¶ 9). But no caselaw is cited for that proposition.

                   The most applicable law, in this Court’s view, is the UCC and, specifically, UCC 2-509,

            which governs the risk of loss in the absence of a breach. But these sections also raise issues of

            fact. Section one provides that:

                   “(1) Where the contract requires or authorizes the seller to ship the goods by carrier

                   (a) if it does not require him to deliver them at a particular destination, the risk of
                   loss passes to the buyer when the goods are duly delivered to the carrier even though
                   the shipment is under reservation (Section 2-505); but

             160762/2022 W. R. COBB COMPANY vs. ROSS METALS CORPORATION ET AL                      Page 5 of 6
             Motion No. 002

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                    (b) if it does require him to deliver them at a particular destination and the goods
                    are there duly tendered while in the possession of the carrier, the risk of loss passes
                    to the buyer when the goods are there duly so tendered as to enable the buyer to
                    take delivery” (UCC 2-509[1]).

                    However, Section three states that “In any case not within subsection (1) or (2), the risk

            of loss passes to the buyer on his receipt of the goods if the seller is a merchant: otherwise the

            risk passes to the buyer on tender of delivery” (UCC 2-509[3]).

                    Here, the “contract” submitted is from 2012 and is completely silent on requiring plaintiff

            to ship goods via a carrier or to a specific destination (NYSCEF Doc. No. 29). In fact, this

            document appears to be an application to be a customer rather than a contract for the sale of

            goods as it does not mention anything about the goods to be sold or purchased. Therefore, there

            is clearly an issue of fact concerning who bears the loss of a shipment to the extent that the goods

            were never delivered. Of course, whether the goods were delivered is yet another issue of fact.

                    Accordingly, it is hereby

                    ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment is denied.

                    See NYSCEF Doc. No. 33 concerning the next conference.

                    3/11/2024                                                              $SIG$
                      DATE                                                         ARLENE P. BLUTH, J.S.C.
             CHECK ONE:                  CASE DISPOSED                  X   NON-FINAL DISPOSITION

                                                                                                     □
                                         GRANTED          X    DENIED       GRANTED IN PART              OTHER

             APPLICATION:                SETTLE ORDER                       SUBMIT ORDER

                                                                                                     □
             CHECK IF APPROPRIATE:       INCLUDES TRANSFER/REASSIGN         FIDUCIARY APPOINTMENT        REFERENCE

             160762/2022 W. R. COBB COMPANY vs. ROSS METALS CORPORATION ET AL                         Page 6 of 6
             Motion No. 002

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