Company Image Knitware, Ltd. v. Mothers Work, Inc.

909 A.2d 324, 2006 Pa. Super. 272, 2006 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3051, 2006 WL 2788656
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 28, 2006
Docket1861 WDA 2005, 1895 WDA 2005
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 909 A.2d 324 (Company Image Knitware, Ltd. v. Mothers Work, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Company Image Knitware, Ltd. v. Mothers Work, Inc., 909 A.2d 324, 2006 Pa. Super. 272, 2006 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3051, 2006 WL 2788656 (Pa. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION BY

TODD, J.:

¶ 1 In this breach of contract action, Mothers Work, Inc., appeals the judgment entered in favor of Company Image Knit-ware, Ltd. (“CIK”) and Perma Lift Cor-setería, S.A. De C.V. (“PLC”) (collectively *327 “Appellees”), and Appellees cross-appeal. We affirm. 1

¶ 2 The extensive factual background of this case, based on the detailed factual findings of the Honorable Marilyn J. Hor-an, is as follows. CIK is a U.S. garment manufacturing company owned and operated by Clarence B. Williams. PLC is a Mexican garment manufacturing company, with its business headquarters in Mexico City, Mexico, and is owned and operated by Carlos Sandoval. Mothers Work, a Pennsylvania corporation with headquarters in Philadelphia, is a “knock off” maternity garment company that produces clothing by copying the designs of other leading manufacturers.

¶ 3 In February 1999, Don Oaks, Mothers Work’s then-executive vice president, asked Williams, with whom Oaks had a long-standing business relationship in the garment industry, to come to Philadelphia to discuss a business venture with Mothers Work wherein Williams would manufacture garments for Mothers Work in Mexico. Williams was asked to locate the appropriate mills and manufacturing centers in Mexico City.

¶ 4 According to the testimony at trial, at this meeting, Mothers Work and Williams’ company, CIK, reached an oral agreement whereby CIK agreed to specially manufacture maternity garments in Mexico according to the standards set and approved by Mothers Work regarding fabric, color, style, and pattern, and Mothers Work agreed to pay CIK a set price, 50% after fabric cutting, and 50% on delivery. The trial court set forth the agreed-upon production routine as follows:

a.[Mothers Work] would provide a sample material to CIK, which represented the fabric texture, content, and “feel” desired by [Mothers Work]. These fabric samples were generally taken from a garment of a competitor of [Mothers Work], which [Mothers Work] wanted CIK to reproduce.
b. CIK, through Mr. Williams, would negotiate with mills in Mexico City for the production of this specific fabric to meet the requirements of [Mothers Work].
c. Once sample fabrics were produced, they were sent to [Mothers Work] in Philadelphia for approval. Upon approval by [Mothers Work], [Mothers Work] would then send specific color swatches to CIK for exact matching in the manufacture of the fabric.
d. Mr. Williams would take the color swatches to the mill. CIK, through Mr. Williams, would obtain matching colors in sample quantities from the mill and forward the same to [Mothers Work], for approval. Upon approval by [Mothers Work], [Mothers Work] would instruct CIK to order production of a designated quantity of said fabric and color according to [Mothers Work’s] specifications.
e. After [Mothers Work] approved the dyed fabric and while the fabric was in production, [Mothers Work] would make a garment fit and pattern, and [Mothers Work] would send those to CIK for purposes of cutting and manufacturing sample garments pursuant to [Mothers Work’s] instructions and specifications.
f. CIK would have the Mexican factory make the final fit sample garments from the approved fabric and send the same to [Mothers Work] for final approval. Upon final approval, [Mothers Work] would send CIK the patterns and specifications for the findings, i.e., trim, *328 buttons, etc., manufacturing directions, and instructions to proceed with production.
g. [Mothers Work] would also issue orders for the purchase of maternity garments from CIK. These orders from [Mothers Work] were by written documents such as purchase orders, faxed notes and requests for garments and scheduling timetables. [Mothers Work] also placed oral orders by telephone, which were sometimes followed by written confirmations and other times only by acceptance of the finished goods that were produced pursuant to the oral orders.
h. After receiving a written or oral order, CIK, through Mr. Williams, would order the specially made and specially dyed fabric from the mill. The findings were also specially ordered to match the fabric and [Mothers Work] specifications.
i. Once the garments were produced, they were boxed in Mexico City and picked up by [Mothers Work] at said location through carriers hired and directed by [Mothers Work]. Delivery of goods would occur from CIK to [Mothers Work] at the manufacturing plant in Mexico City.

(Memorandum Opinion and Decision, 7/1/05, at 3-4.)

¶ 5 PLC, a manufacturer of ladies lingerie and maternity tops to the local Mexican market and for export, was selected by CIK as the Mexican clothing manufacturer, and PLC was also interviewed and approved by Mothers Work. With approval of Mothers Work, and following Mothers Work’s inspection of PLC’s facilities, Ap-pellees entered into a joint venture for the manufacture of garments pursuant to orders placed by Mothers Work. Mothers Work approved the hiring of an on-site quality control inspector for CIK and PLC, and also interviewed and hired its own inspector.

¶ 6 The inspectors checked the fabric and garment manufacturing processes for all Mothers Work orders, including fabric manufacture at the mills, garment production at the factories, and garment packaging for delivery. The inspectors implemented protocol for fabric and garment inspection in accordance with the military standard and the JCPenney’s standard, which were the standards in the industry.

¶ 7 In 1999, Appellees began manufacturing garments for Mothers Work. Mothers Work placed its orders for fabric and garments by purchase order, telephone, fax, and some e-mail communications. When garments were delivered to Mothers Work, invoices were issued by CIK or PLC. According to Williams, Appellees produced about 150,000 units for Mothers Work in 1999, about 500,000 units in 2000, and about 200,000 units in the early months of 2001. (N.T. Trial, 5/23/05, at 68-69.)

¶ 8 Mothers Work terminated its relationship with Appellees in the spring of 2001 by failing to place any further orders for garment production or fabric manufacture. After Mothers Work refused to pay sums Appellees asserted were due for goods already shipped and materials and goods in the process of manufacture, in June 2002, Appellees sued Mothers Work, asserting claims for breach of oral contract, promissory estoppel, and quasi-contract, and seeking damages of nearly $2 million.

¶ 9 Appellees’ damages claim was ultimately divided into three categories: Category I damages concerned goods for which Appellees had invoiced Mothers Work, but for which Appellees had not received payment. It is undisputed that, over the course ■ of the relationship, Appellees in *329 voiced Mothers Work for the sum of $4,478,137.65 and that, on those invoices, Mothers Work remitted $4,353,321.70, leaving an unpaid balance of $124,815.80. 2

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

Related

Rice Drilling B, LLC v. Scott, D.
2024 Pa. Super. 195 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2024)
FOSTER v. DEMK, LLC
E.D. Pennsylvania, 2023
ATTIAS v. 532 BROOKLYN, LLC
E.D. Pennsylvania, 2023
Estate of Matthews, J. v. MWA Acquisitions
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2022
Bethel, P. v. Heller, P.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2022
MFW Wine Co., LLC v. PA LCB
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 2022
BT Stone Hill, LP v. Ashley Development Corp.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
Wyher, D. v. Devon Regional Realty, LLC
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
Morgan, G. v. A. Frost, Inc.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
Gawron, N. v. Citadel Federal Credit Union
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
Sipes, T. v. Hopper, D.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018
Gutteridge v. J3 Energy Group, Inc.
165 A.3d 908 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017)
Norman, M. v. Norman, E.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017
King, E. v. Harnish, R. & S.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2016
Grassy Meadows, II, LLC v. Bet Shavei-tzion
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2016
Gutteridge, C. v. J3 Energy Group
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015
S.K.C. v. J.L.C.
94 A.3d 402 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2014)
Joseph v. Scranton Times
23 Pa. D. & C.5th 129 (Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
909 A.2d 324, 2006 Pa. Super. 272, 2006 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3051, 2006 WL 2788656, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/company-image-knitware-ltd-v-mothers-work-inc-pasuperct-2006.