Leicht Transfer & Storage provides warehousing services and often purchases pallets from Pallet Central. The companies followed a standard practice for documenting these transactions in which Pallet Central would prepare a delivery ticket describing the shipment, including the type of pallets, number to be delivered, and delivery date. Upon delivery, a Leicht employee would verify the shipment and sign the delivery ticket, which would then be sent back with the driver to Pallet Central to be converted into an invoice for Leicht.

Eventually, Leicht became aware that the number of invoices Pallet Central was submitting had dramatically increased. Upon investigation, Leicht discovered that many of the delivery tickets contained the forged signatures of Leicht employees and that it had paid Pallet Central for pallets it never received. Leicht submitted its loss to Hiscox Insurance Company pursuant to the terms of its Commercial Crime Insurance Policy (the Policy). The relevant language, found in the “Forgery or Alteration” insuring agreement, states the following:

Checks We will pay for loss resulting directly from Forgery or alteration of checks, drafts, promissory notes, convenience checks, HELOC checks, or similar written promises, orders or directions to pay a sum certain in Money that are:

Made or drawn by or drawn upon You; or Made or drawn by one acting as Your agent; or that are purported to have been so made or drawn.

Hiscox denied coverage, asserting that the delivery tickets are not considered checks under the policy. Leicht sued, alleging Hiscox breached its contract by denying coverage. Do the delivery tickets fulfill the Sum Certain in Money element of negotiable instruments? How did the court rule and what was its reasoning?