Comptroller General Warren to the Secretary of the Navy, B-20568
| Decision Date | 26 September 1941 |
| Docket Number | B-20568 |
| Citation | 21 Comp.Gen. 265 |
| Parties | COMPTROLLER GENERAL WARREN TO THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, |
| Court | Comptroller General of the United States |
Assignment of claims - amounts due for transportation of government property on government bills of lading a government bill of lading constitutes a contract for transportation of the goods involved and as such comes within the authority in the assignment of claims act of 1940 to assign moneys due or to become due "under a contract providing for payments aggregating $1, 000 or more., where a carrier has assigned to a bank all moneys due for freights on the outward voyage of a vessel, and the government bills of lading representing numerous shipments on the vessel constitute the only contract for the transportation, the assignment May be recognized under the assignment of claims act of 1940, as authorizing payment in the name of the assignee only with respect to each such bill of lading which involves a payment of $1, 000 or more, but where the amount involved is less than $1, 000 payment should be made in the name of the transportation company and the check mailed in care of the assignee.
I have your letter of September 15, 1941, as follows:
There is forwarded herewith a letter from the bank of america, san francisco, California, dated July 1, 1941, with accompanying correspondence. Your decision is requested on the question presented by the bureau of supplies and accounts, navy department, in the first endorsement herewith of July 18 1941, as to whether the assignment of claims act of 1940 (54 Stat. 1029), approved October 9, 1940, is sufficiently broad to authorize the assignment of claims for transportation charges payable under government bills of lading.
Since the assignment of claims act of 1940 applies only with respect to "payments aggregating $1, 000 or more, " if the answer to the above question is in the affirmative your further decision is requested as to whether payment under said act is authorized of the aggregate amount represented by the seventeen bills of lading in question copies of which are enclosed, or whether payment is restricted to the aggregate amount represented only by the four bills of lading, nos. N563634, n559200, n559131, and n559024, and the respective amounts of $16, 370.06, $2, 206.76, $1, 084.75, and $3, 137.36.
It appears, from the papers enclosed with the above-quoted letter that the supply officer, navy yard, mare island, calif., has made some 17 shipments on government bills of lading, via steamship admiral Y. S. Williams, of the American president lines, john N. Raymond, owner, consigned to the supply officer, naval station, Guam. The bills of lading on which the shipments were made, together with the amounts reported to be due for shipment of the material covered thereby, are as follows:
Under date of June 3, 1941, there was executed by john N. Raymond an instrument purporting to assign to the bank of america national trust and savings association pursuant to the assignment of claims act of 1940, 54 Stat. 1029, all moneys due or to become due for freights on the outward voyage of the admiral Y. S. Williams, commencing April 24, 1941, on various bills of lading covering shipments for the United States navy. Copies of said assignment and notices thereof are reported by the assignee to have been forwarded to this office, to the disbursing officer, bureau of supplies and accounts, or to the contracting officer, bureau of supplies and accounts, navy department.
In response to a request from the chief, bureau of supplies and accounts, for an opinion as to whether the...
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