Computel, Inc. v. Emery Air Freight Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
919 F.2d 678 (1990)
Facts
Computel, Inc. (plaintiff) contracted with Emery Air Freight Corporation (Emery) (defendant) for the delivery of Computel goods to a consignee. The waybill for the shipment gave Emery a special instruction to deliver the goods only upon receipt of a cashier’s check from the consignee. Instead, when Emery delivered the goods, Emery accepted the consignee’s ordinary corporate check. Emery relayed the check to Computel clerks who, in accordance with Computel’s standard ministerial procedure, processed the check and unconditionally deposited it into Computel’s bank account. The check bounced. Computel sued Emery for ignoring Computel’s shipment instructions. A federal district court granted summary judgment for Computel. On appeal to the Eleventh Circuit, Emery argued that Computel’s unconditional acceptance of the consignee’s check constituted a principal’s ratification of its agent’s unauthorized act.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fay, J.)
Dissent (Johnson, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 707,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 44,500 briefs, keyed to 983 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
