A. A. Baxter Corp. v. Colt Industries, Inc.

10 Cal. App. 3d 144, 88 Cal. Rptr. 842, 7 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1312, 1970 Cal. App. LEXIS 1826
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 31, 1970
DocketCiv. 9585
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 10 Cal. App. 3d 144 (A. A. Baxter Corp. v. Colt Industries, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
A. A. Baxter Corp. v. Colt Industries, Inc., 10 Cal. App. 3d 144, 88 Cal. Rptr. 842, 7 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1312, 1970 Cal. App. LEXIS 1826 (Cal. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

Opinion

WHELAN, J.

A. A.Baxter Corporation (plaintiff) brought this action to recover damages caused because defendants, Colt Industries, Inc. (Colt), a corporation, Fairbanks Morse, Inc., a corporation (maker), and Fairbanks, Morse & Company, a corporation (lessor) failed to deliver a truck scale according to a delivery schedule contained in a lease between lessor and plaintiff as lessee.

Plaintiff is a contractor which on August 4, 1966 knew that a corporation known as Dicco was low bidder on a bid submitted that day to the State of California (State) for construction of a nine-mile stretch of highway east of Barstow.

Plaintiff had earlier received a letter from Dicco that plaintiff would receive a subcontract from Dicco, a part of which would entail hauling borrowed earth according to weight.

Plaintiff’s contract with Dicco was executed August 30, 1966, for a total of $1,213,832.50, of which $522,000 was for earth to be imported by weight in the quantity of 1,800,000 tons.

It may be assumed it was plaintiff’s obligation to establish the weight *149 of earth furnished, which required the installation of a truck scale at the job-site. The scale 'was not mentioned in either the prime contract or the subcontract so far as may be determined from the record.

Between August 4 and August 15, 1966, Malloy, an officer of plaintiff, negotiated with Thompson, an agent of the three defendants, to obtain a truck scale, which Malloy knew to be manufactured by maker, which could weigh a load of 325,000 pounds. The scale itself weighed 78,000 pounds. Malloy informed Thompson that plaintiff would be prepared to commence work on September 19. While at the time of their conversations the prime contract had not been awarded, an event that usually followed by two or three weeks the opening of bids, plaintiff was willing to go ahead at its own risk, a procedure, permitted by State in connection with such projects.

Thompson was informed also that plaintiff would bring to the job-site, in preparation for commencing operations on September 19, equipment of the value of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000; mention was made also of penalty provisions for delay in the contract, without mention of any figure. The prime contract contained a provision for payment of $875 per day for failure of the prime contractor to complete within 200 working days. Plaintiff’s contract was to reimburse Dicco for penalties imposed on the latter because of plaintiff’s failure not caused by the acts of others.

On August 15 Thompson informed Malloy he had received word from the maker a scale would be produced and ready for shipping in three or four weeks, with an estimated week in transit.

On August 15 Thompson furnished Malloy with estimates of price for the sale of the scale and for its rental. Two order forms were filled out and were signed by Malloy, one to buy, the other to lease. Each contained this language: “to be shipped to be on job week of Sept. 19th” and “ship by truck hot line.” The latte.r method of shipment was suggested by Thompson as being faster than by rail and an additional $250 was included in the sale price and total rental price respectively for that method of transportation.

The face of the order incorporated by reference terms on the back of it which included the following in bold-face capitals: “The company nowise assumes any responsibility or liability with respect to use, purpose, or suitability, and shall not be liable for damages of any character, whether direct, indirect or consequential, for defect, delay, or otherwise, its sole liability and obligation being confined to the replacement in the manner aforesaid of defectively manufactured guaranteed parts failing within the time stated.”

*150 Plaintiff decided to lease rather than buy, and the purchase order for a proposed sale was returned to it.

A formal written lease, dated August 19, 1966, covering the scale was executed on August 22. That part of it which is specific to the equipment and terms shows a lease for 36 months commencing October 15, 1966. It too contained a limitation of liability and another clause excusing delay caused by carrier.

The scale was ready for shipping from maker’s East Moline, Illinois factory on September 20 and was delivered on that date to a rail carrier, rather than to a trucker, because the maker was informed the width of the scale made it impossible to be accommodated by a truck on the highway without obtaining many special permits. It was later discovered that delivery by truck would have been possible.

The scale arrived at the railhead near the work site on October 1, and plaintiff undertook to move it to the job-site by truck.

Lessor had undertaken the assembly and installation of the scale at the site prepared by plaintiff. That was completed on October 6, one day’s delay having been occasioned by a breakdown of plaintiff’s equipment used in moving the scale. The scale was then ready for use on October 7.

Plaintiff by September 19 had brought to the job-site numerous pieces of equipment and certain of its personnel.

The equipment brought by plaintiff to the operations site before the end of the week of September 19 came from two other locations: Patterson, in Tuolumne County and Desert Center, near Blythe. The job near Desert Center had been completed; the job at Patterson was not completed until October, but the bringing of equipment from there caused neither loss nor delay on that job. Equipment from Patterson began to arrive at the job-site on September 8, from Desert Center on September 6.

Plaintiff sought to recover the amount of damage caused by the delay from the end of the week of September 19 to October 7. That damage it claimed consisted of the salaries of three employees and the rental value of the equipment that remained idle.

The prime contract contained a schedule of amounts State agreed to pay the prime contractor per hour for equipment idled at the instance of State. The figures so listed were used by the trial court to fix the amount of damage, in addition to payments made by plaintiff to employees.

The court rendered judgment in favor of plaintiff for $17,464, calculated as for the loss of eight working days, plus interest of $1,222.48 (from September 19, 1967).

*151 No penalties were charged to plaintiff under its contract. Any delay in the completion of the overall project was caused by another subcontractor.

Theories of Recovery

The complaint is in four causes of action.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Jogani v. Jogani
California Court of Appeal, 2026
Ballesteros v. Ford Motor Co.
California Court of Appeal, 2025
Davis v. Nissan North America, Inc.
California Court of Appeal, 2024
Yeh v. Super. Ct.
California Court of Appeal, 2023
In re Conagra Foods, Inc.
90 F. Supp. 3d 919 (C.D. California, 2015)
Tae Hee Lee v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
992 F. Supp. 2d 962 (C.D. California, 2014)
Asghari v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
42 F. Supp. 3d 1306 (C.D. California, 2013)
Keegan v. American Honda Motor Co.
838 F. Supp. 2d 929 (C.D. California, 2012)
Noggle v. Bank of America Nt & Sa
82 Cal. Rptr. 2d 829 (California Court of Appeal, 1999)
Keith v. Buchanan
173 Cal. App. 3d 13 (California Court of Appeal, 1985)
Murray E. Gildersleeve Logging Co. v. Northern Timber Corp.
670 P.2d 372 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1983)
Ewers v. Eisenzopf
276 N.W.2d 802 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1979)
Gulf Oil Corp. v. Federal Power Commission
563 F.2d 588 (Third Circuit, 1977)
Gulf Oil Corporation v. Federal Power Commission, Philadelphia Gas Works, Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation, Milton Clark, Frederick W. Rose, and St. Regis Apartment, Ltd., on Behalf of Themselves and All Others Similarly Situated (Pgw's Customers), Washington Urban League, Public Service Electric and Gas Company, Connecticut Public Utilities Control Authority, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, Rhode Island Attorney General and Rhode Island Customers' Council (New England), Public Service Commission of the State of New York, the Brooklyn Union Gas Company, Philadelphia Electric Company, Intervenors. Connecticut Public Utilities Control Authority, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, Rhode Island Attorney General, and Rhode Island Consumers' Council v. Federal Power Commission, Philadelphia Gas Works, Gulf Oil Corporation, Bay State Gas Company, Boston Gas Company, Bristol and Warren Gas Company, Cape Cod Gas Company, Commonwealth Gas Company, the Connecticut Gas Company, Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation, Fall River Gas Company, the Hartford Electric Light Company, Town of Middleborough, Municipal Gas and Electric Department, New Bedford Gas and Edison Light Company, North Attleboro Gas Company, City of Norwich, Department of Public Utilities, Pequot Gas Company, Providence Gas Company, South County Gas Company, the Southern Connecticut Gas Company, Tiverton Gas Company, Public Service Electric and Gas Company, Milton Clark, Frederick W. Rose and St. Regis Apartments, Ltd. (Pgw's Customers), Algonquin Gas Transmission Company, Philadelphia Electric Company, Intervenors
563 F.2d 588 (Third Circuit, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
10 Cal. App. 3d 144, 88 Cal. Rptr. 842, 7 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1312, 1970 Cal. App. LEXIS 1826, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/a-a-baxter-corp-v-colt-industries-inc-calctapp-1970.