Appeal, on the ground of inadequacy, from a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Stephen S. Gottlieb, J.), entered April 27, 2005. The judgment, upon an inquest, awarded plaintiffs the principal sum of $926.

Judgment affirmed without costs.

Plaintiffs contracted with defendant carrier for the transport to Ecuador of three boxes containing personal goods. At the inquest, held upon defendant's default, plaintiff Olga Sanchez testified that the defendant failed to deliver the boxes to their destination, and that the value of the goods was $10,000. The court noted that the defendant's receipts reflected a total declared valuation of $926. In response to the court's inquiry, plaintiff Olga Sanchez in effect conceded that there was a fair opportunity to declare a higher valuation on the defendant's receipts, but that this was not done to avoid the payment of customs duty. Under the circumstances, we find no basis upon the record to disturb the determination of the court below, that plaintiffs' damages for the loss of the three boxes by defendant carrier was limited to the sum of $926.

Pesce, P.J., Weston Patterson and Rios, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: March 9, 2006