Brooks Shoe Manufacturing Co. v. Chesapeake Shoe Co. (In Re Brooks Shoe Manufacturing Co.)

21 B.R. 604, 34 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 539, 1982 Bankr. LEXIS 3753
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 13, 1982
Docket19-10767
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 21 B.R. 604 (Brooks Shoe Manufacturing Co. v. Chesapeake Shoe Co. (In Re Brooks Shoe Manufacturing Co.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brooks Shoe Manufacturing Co. v. Chesapeake Shoe Co. (In Re Brooks Shoe Manufacturing Co.), 21 B.R. 604, 34 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 539, 1982 Bankr. LEXIS 3753 (Pa. 1982).

Opinion

*606 OPINION

EMIL F. GOLDHABER, Bankruptcy Judge:

The instant case is before us on the issue of the amount due the debtor by the defendant for goods sold and delivered. We conclude that the defendant is entitled to credits for defective goods and for certain miscalculations made by the debtor and we will, accordingly, reduce the amount that is due the debtor by the amount of the allowable credits.

The facts of the instant case are as follows: 1 On October 23, 1981, Brooks Shoe Manufacturing Company, Inc. (“Brooks”) filed a petition for a reorganization under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (“the Code”). Prior to that time Brooks was in the business of manufacturing footwear. Chesapeake Shoe Company (“Chesapeake”) is in the business of purchasing shoes from manufacturers and distributing them to retailers and had been doing business with Brooks prior to the time Brooks filed its petition. In particular, between January 22, 1981, and August 13, 1981, Brooks sold athletic footwear to Chesapeake and correspondingly billed it for a total of $109,-511.06. When Chesapeake failed to pay those bills, Brooks filed the instant adversary proceeding against it seeking a money judgment for the goods sold and delivered. Although Chesapeake admitted that Brooks had sold and billed Chesapeake for shoes totaling the above amount, 2 Chesapeake asserted that it was entitled to credits amounting to $172,475.13. Those credits were allegedly due for the late delivery of shoes by Brooks, for posters and catalogues which Chesapeake asserts it is entitled to return, for two orders of shoes which were missing various sizes, for defective shoes which have been returned or will be returned in the future, and for damages for a drop in the market price of Brooks' shoes allegedly caused by the forced sale of Brooks’ entire inventory to a third party during Brooks’ bankruptcy proceeding.

Before addressing each of Chesapeake’s claimed credits, it is necessary to discuss the parties’ general practice of when a credit would be given by Brooks to Chesapeake. 3 In general, when Chesapeake received defective goods from Brooks, Chesapeake would prepare a “charge back” on its standard invoice form which it would then send to Brooks. After receiving the “charge back”, Brooks would decide whether to authorize the return of the goods. If Brooks authorized the return of the goods, it would notify Chesapeake to ship the goods back to it. Upon receipt and inspection of the returned goods, Brooks would issue an appropriate credit.

I. CREDIT FOR LATE DELIVERY OF SHOES.

Chesapeake’s first claim is for a credit of $20,760.00 because of the late delivery of shoes by Brooks. Both parties agree that Chesapeake ordered shoes from Brooks in January, 1981, which were to be delivered in April, 1981. Those shoes were not delivered until August, 1981.

On this issue, Chesapeake offered the testimony of its president, Daniel Goldfein *607 (“Goldfein”), who stated that, in May, 1981, Brooks’ vice president of sales, John Benow-itz (“Benowitz”) contacted him and explained that there would be a delay in the delivery but that the shoes would arrive in June. When the goods failed to arrive, Goldfein stated that he cancelled the order. When the goods nonetheless arrived in August, Goldfein testified that they were too late to sell for that season and that he consequently entered into an oral agreement with Brooks to return the shoes for an appropriate credit. As a result, Goldfein stated that he sent a “charge back” to Brooks in the amount of $20,760.00 for the late shoes to which Brooks never responded. 4

The testimony presented by Goldfein contradicted that given by Benowitz who testified that, in July, when the late shoes arrived in the United States, he contacted all of Brooks’ customers, including Chesapeake, and asked if they still wanted the shoes. Benowitz testified that Chesapeake stated that it still wanted the shoes and that, because of that response, Brooks subsequently shipped the shoes to Chesapeake. Benowitz stated that Chesapeake never cancelled that shipment and that August was not too late in the season to sell the shoes because they were basketball sneakers which sold well in the fall.

We find the testimony presented by Ben-owitz on behalf of Brooks to be the more credible. His testimony was clear and convincing that, because of the lateness of the shoes, he gave all of Brooks customers an opportunity to cancel immediately before the goods were shipped. He was emphatic that Chesapeake did not seek to cancel its order before it shipped. Goldfein’s testimony was less clear as to when he cancelled the order. He admitted that when Benow-itz first contacted him about the late shipment (he said it was in May, Benowitz said it was in July) he agreed to accept the late goods. Goldfein testified that he later can-celled the order, but it would appear that this was after the shoes had already arrived. 5 We think that that was too late for two reasons. Firstly, we find that Chesapeake agreed to accept the late shoes and, therefore, that there was a binding agreement to modify the delivery date. Section 2-209 of the Uniform Commercial Code provides that parties to a contract may enter into an agreement to modify that contract without further consideration. 6 We therefore conclude that the credible evidence supports a finding that Brooks and Chesapeake entered into an agreement that the shoes would be delivered in August.

Secondly, Goldfein admitted that the shoes were as ordered (other than being late). 7 Consequently, we conclude that Chesapeake has failed to establish that it had a right to reject the shoes or to return them. 8 In particular, § 2-607 provides in relevant part:

(1) The buyer must pay at the contract rate for any goods accepted.
(2) Acceptance of goods by the buyer precludes rejection of the goods accepted and if made with knowledge of a nonconformity cannot be revoked because of it unless the acceptance was on the reasonable assumption that the non-conformity would be seasonably cured but acceptance does not of itself impair any other remedy provided by this Article for non-conformity.
*608 (4) The burden is on the buyer to establish any breach with respect to the goods accepted. 9

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Bluebook (online)
21 B.R. 604, 34 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 539, 1982 Bankr. LEXIS 3753, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brooks-shoe-manufacturing-co-v-chesapeake-shoe-co-in-re-brooks-shoe-paeb-1982.