Lincoln Pulp & Paper Co., Inc. v. Dravo Corp.

445 F. Supp. 507, 25 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 400, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14522
District Court, D. Maine·Decided August 11, 1977·No. Civ. 74-65 ND·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

*509 MEMORANDUM AND ORDER OF THE COURT

GIGNOUX, District Judge.

At the third-party preliminary trial, which was held on June 8 and 9, 1977, defendant and third-party plaintiff Dravo Corporation (Dravo) and third-party defendants Babcock & Wilcox Company (B & W), Koppers Company (Koppers) and Whiting Corporation (Whiting) presented evidence on the composition of their respective contracts for the sale by the third-party defendants and for the purchase by Dravo of equipment to be installed at the Lincoln, Maine pulp mill of plaintiff Lincoln Pulp & Paper Co., Inc. (Lincoln). Pursuant to the Court’s orders of July 19 and November 19, 1976, the issues tried in each instance were: (1) whether the contract in question contains clauses purporting to disclaim certain warranties and to relieve the third-party defendant of liability for consequential damages, and (2) if such clauses are included in the contract, their meaning and effect. At the conclusion of the preliminary trial, the Court announced from the bench its ruling with respect to the Dravo-Koppers and Dravo-Whiting contracts but reserved its ruling with respect to the Dravo-B & W contract.

The Court having now considered the evidence presented by the parties and the written and oral arguments of counsel, this memorandum contains the Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law with respect to the Dravo-B & W contract, as required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a).

I.

Findings of Fact

B & W was Dravo’s only bidder for the heat and chemical recovery boiler required under the primary Lincoln-Dravo contract. In response to Dravo’s inquiry, B & W submitted to Dravo on December 8, 1969 its first Proposal #P3-7742, for a 350-ton heat and chemical recovery boiler. This proposal contained both technical specifications and included B & W’s General Terms and Conditions. By telegram on July 27, 1970, Dravo requested that B & W submit a revised proposal, incorporating Lincoln’s changed technical requirements. B & W responded by letter of July 27, 1970. The letter quoted firm prices for the boiler and additional items of equipment; stated that the proposal was “firm for acceptance by August 15, 1970”; noted that the proposal was subject to prior sale of shop space; and further stated that if a letter of intent to purchase the equipment was received from Dravo by August 15, B & W could commence preparation of drawings and other contract work for a period of 30 days, subject to an extension of an additional 30 days, if Dravo agreed to substantial cancellation charges.

On August 7, 1970, B & W submitted to Dravo its revised Proposal, # P8-6533C, dated April 20, 1970 with pages revised to August 25, 1970. The cover letter specifically noted a change in one of B & W’s proposed commercial terms, the warranty on defective material. The August 7 letter also offered to provide Dravo first opportunity at B & W’s shop space until August 12, 1970.

The “General Conditions” of the August 7 proposal contained the protective clauses which B & W asserts are part of its contract with Dravo. The section entitled “Warranty and Limitation of Liability of Company [B & W]” reads in relevant part:

WARRANTY. The COMPANY shall repair or shall replace on an installed basis, any parts of said equipment which within one year from the date of initial operation are found to be defective in design, workmanship, material (if material, in case of delayed or postponed erection, is protected from damaging agents) or erection (if erected by the COMPANY), provided said equipment is operated by the PURCHASER [Dravo] in accordance with generally approved practice and in accordance with the conditions of service, if any, herein specified and provided the PURCHASER notifies the COMPANY in writing as soon as such defect becomes apparent. . . . No warranty, not expressly stated, other than title, shall be *510 implied from the manufacture, sale, furnishing, or erection of any of the said equipment to be furnished hereunder.
THE COMPANY AND PURCHASER AGREE THAT IN CONSIDERATION OF THE ABOVE EXPRESS WARRANTY THAT ALL OTHER WARRANTIES OTHER THAN TITLE EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, WHETHER ARISING UNDER LAW OR EQUITY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXCLUDED FROM THIS CONTRACT.
The liability of the COMPANY arising out of the manufacture, sale, furnishing, or erection of the equipment hereunder or its use, whether on warranties or otherwise, shall be limited to cost of repair or replacement of defective parts as herein specified.

A separate paragraph is headed “Consequential Damages” and reads in full:

The COMPANY shall not be liable in any event for loss of anticipated profits, loss by reason of plant shutdown, non-operation or increased expense of operation of other equipment, or other consequential loss or damage of any nature arising from any cause whatsoever.

The proposal further stated that the prices and terms were subject to acceptance within 60 days. Finally, it contained an integration clause providing that the proposal constituted the entire agreement between the parties and that a contract would be formed when the proposal had been accepted by Dravo and approved in writing by a B & W officer. The blank signature blocks on the proposal’s final page, designated for these latter purposes, were never executed by either a Dravo representative or an officer of B & W. The final sentence of the integration clause reads:

Any provisions of a purchase order or specification which may be issued after this Proposal has been accepted by the PURCHASER and which are additions to or are in conflict with the provisions of this Proposal shall not be binding upon the COMPANY unless duly approved in writing by both parties to the Contract.

Following receipt by Dravo of the B & W revised proposal, D. B. Malcom, Dravo’s Process Engineer, forwarded to R. L. Quasey, Dravo’s Purchasing Agent, on August 11,1970 an internal Dravo requisition order asking that a “cancellable Purchase Order” be issued to B & W “for one Chemical Recovery Unit in accordance with B & W Proposal No. P8-6533C dated April 20, 1970 (with pages revised to April 23 [sic], 1970) and Dravo Spec M-933-CF-1.” The order requested that reference be made to the B & W letters of July 27 and August 7, 1970; emphasized that “this cancellable purchase order must be placed by August 12,1970” in order to retain delivery of the equipment; and instructed that “[guarantees, warranties, inspections etc. to be per B & W proposals. . . . ” 1

On August 12, 1970 W. E. Crawford, Jr., Dravo’s Purchasing Engineer, forwarded to A. G. Thompson, B & W’s Sales Engineer, Dravo’s letter of intent. The letter stated that it was a “memorandum of the discussion” held between the parties.

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Lincoln Pulp & Paper Co., Inc. v. Dravo Corp., 445 F. Supp. 507, 25 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 400, 1977 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14522 (D. Me. 1977).

445 F. Supp. 507 (Lincoln Pulp & Paper Co., Inc. v. Dravo Corp.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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