Cub Beverage Co. v. Transportation Equipment Co.

223 So. 2d 893, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 5128
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 26, 1969
DocketNo. 7579
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 223 So. 2d 893 (Cub Beverage Co. v. Transportation Equipment Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cub Beverage Co. v. Transportation Equipment Co., 223 So. 2d 893, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 5128 (La. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

SARTAIN, Judge.

This is a suit for the rescission of a sale of a tank trailer purchased by plaintiff from the defendant, the return to plaintiff of the cash portion of the purchase price, and for damages sustained by plaintiff as a result of the failure of the tanker to perform according to specifications. Judgment was rendered in the lower court ordering the contract rescinded, condemning the defendant to pay to plaintiff the cash provision of the purchase price of $7,-721.09, reimbursement of expenses of a test trip of $470.35, and insurance expenses of $1,423.00 totaling $9,614.44; and, the additional sum of $30,000.00 representing other unspecified damages.

Defendant does not here complain of the judgment rescinding the contract and the award of $9,614.44 to plaintiff. Defendant does complain that plaintiff has failed to bear the burden of proving that the damages it sustained resulted from the improper [894]*894operation of the tanker. Alternatively, defendant submits that in the event plaintiff is entitled to damages those damages should be limited to the following items:

“Calculated loss incurred as a result of 1964 beer operations per Cub Beverage Co. data $30,263
Deduct:
Fixed expenses which might have been incurred if Cub Beverage Co. had not entered the beer business:
Rent $1,600
Office salaries 572
Truck and sales salaries 3,941
Adjustment to advertising expense 1,651
Adjustment to utility expense 1,179
Excessive charge for carbon dioxide 150
Insurance premiums which were refunded 1,645
Taxes on dumped beer which could have been recovered 307 11,045
Calculated loss incurred as a result of 1964 beer operations after suggested adjustments not reflected in Cub Beverage Co. data $19,218”

Plaintiff has answered the appeal and claims that the amount awarded was inadequate and should be increased to in-elude:

“Attorney’s fees $ 2,900.00
Travel expenses 2,446.00
Materials, parts, etc., in adapting bottling equipment 6,147.00
Labor in adapting bottling equipment 5,890.00
Executive salary 5,515.33
Insurance, bonds, etc. 1,423.00
Advertising material 2,201.00
Supplies of bottles, etc. 32,586.00
Refund of amount paid on purchase price of trailer-tank 7,721.09
Cost of license, sales tax, etc., for purchase of truck-tractor 2,807.83
Cost of equipping and delivering trailer-tank 955.00
Loss in business operations 14,734.00
$85,326.25”

For reasons hereinafter stated we are of the opinion that plaintiff is entitled to receive only the sum of $9,614.44 because plaintiff has failed to prove that the balance of the damages it claims are incidental to or the result of the failure of the tanker to operate according to specifications.

Plaintiff’s owner and manager, Mr. Edward Streun, has been engaged in the [895]*895bottling and distribution of soft drinks in the Shreveport area since 1938. He first bottled and sold Pepsi Cola. In 1957 he obtained the Dr. Pepper franchise. Shortly thereafter he added a line of flavored carbonated drinks such as orange, grape and strawberry, etc. In 1962, he lost the Dr. Pepper franchise which reduced his total volume of sales by one-third. To pick up this slack, he did contract bottling for the next year. In 1963, he began investigating the possibility of purchasing beer in bulk, bottling it at his plant in Shreveport and then distributing it in his area using the same personnel and outlets. He ultimately decided upon a plan to purchase bulk beer from the Carta Blanca Brewery in Monterrey, Mexico and transport it via a refrigerated highway tanker to Shreveport. The beer was to be bottled directly from the tanker trailer.

Plaintiff contacted Transportation Equipment Company of New Orleans, the Louisiana distributor of The Heil Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who manufactured highway tank trailers. Plaintiff contracted to purchase from defendant a tank trailer with a capacity of 5,050 gallons and the specified capability of maintaining constant product temperature of 32° F. with a maximum outside temperature of 115°.

Plaintiff made four trips to Monterrey, Mexico and encountered numerous problems with the tanker. However, the remaining principle objection is that the tanker was unable to maintain the beer at 32° F. On occasions the temperature of the beer reached 37° F while in the tank.

Plaintiff ordered a considerable amount of supplies including clear 6 ounce bottles with “Short Beer” appearing on the bottle in raised letters. He also purchased appropriate cases, cartons and display stands all specially designed to handle and display his product.

Plaintiff’s venture into the beer business was rather short lived. He picked up the tanker from defendant’s plant in April of 1963. He made four trips to Monterrey, Mexico. The first trip was admittedly a test run and the tanker was filled to only one-half of its capacity. On this occasion the beer arrived on Friday, was kept in the refrigerated tank until Monday when it was inspected by representatives of the Carta Blanca Brewery and determined to be unfit for consumption. Three more trips were made and on each occasion the beer was bottled, distributed and offered for retail purchase.

Shortly after plaintiff’s beer appeared on the market it began to receive customer complaints that the beer was “flat” and “skunky.” These complaints were well founded and ultimately caused plaintiff to discontinue the operation. Plaintiff contends that his entire trouble is the result of the failure of the tank to maintain the beer while in transient at the required 32° F.

On the other hand, defendant asserts that the failure of the tanker to maintain the beer at the required temperature was not the reason for the bad beer. Defendant contends that the bad beer was the result of Mr. Streun’s lack of knowledge and inexperience in the handling and bottling of beer.

The testimony in this case clearly supports the defendant’s position because all of the experts agreed that the factors of air control, copper contamination, exposure of light, and temperature control of the bottling process are vital to any successful beer bottling operation.

The trial judge while recognizing that the tanker failed to perform as specified also stated that “a portion of plaintiff’s trouble was the result of a lack of knowledge on plaintiff’s part concerning the bottling and packaging of beer.”

The greater portion of the testimony in the record consists of that of expert witnesses in the field of refrigeration and brewing. It is apparent to us that the question of refrigeration of the beer while in transient was not a contributing cause to plaintiff’s failure and we will not detail [896]

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Related

Cub Beverage Co. v. Transportation Equipment Co.
226 So. 2d 924 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1969)

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223 So. 2d 893, 1969 La. App. LEXIS 5128, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cub-beverage-co-v-transportation-equipment-co-lactapp-1969.