Romicon, Inc. v. L & J of New England, Inc.

1981 Mass. App. Div. 164, 2 Mass. Supp. 703, 1981 Mass. App. Div. LEXIS 92

This text of 1981 Mass. App. Div. 164 (Romicon, Inc. v. L & J of New England, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts District Court, Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Romicon, Inc. v. L & J of New England, Inc., 1981 Mass. App. Div. 164, 2 Mass. Supp. 703, 1981 Mass. App. Div. LEXIS 92 (Mass. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

Forte, J.

This is an action of contract wherein the plaintiff seeks recovery for the defendant’s alleged breach of contract to purchase machinery from the plaintiff by wrongfully cancelling said contract.

At the trial, there was evidence tending to establish the following:

On August 15, 1977, the plaintiff sent the defendant a letter enclosing a “formal” quotation #8750 containing the plaintiff’s standard terms and conditions of sale offering to sell defendant a used ultrafiltration system with a new recirculation pump for $6,400.00 with delivery to be four weeks after receipt of the defendant’s order.

On August 19, 1977, the defendant mailed its purchase order for the said used [165]*165ultrafiltration system, with the notation “(t)his system is to be connected to the E-coat tank supplied by George Kock.” The order also contained the following language - “Date required 9/19/77 ... Important - Please notify us immediately if you are unable to ship complete order by date required.”

On August 24, 1977, the plaintiff forwarded its forms labeled “customer acknowl-edgement.” The plaintiffs form stated on its face:

Your purchase order is accepted subject to the prices in effect at the time of shipment and in accordance with the terms and conditions stated on the reverse side of this form, the terms and conditions being the same as those which were sent with Plaintiffs quotation. All orders shall not be deemed accepted until such acceptance is made in writing by us. Any objections by you to these terms and conditions should be brought to our attention immediately. Your failure to notify us immediately of any such objections will be deemed to be your acceptance of this acknowledgment to be the complete contract of sale between us superseding any inconsistent provisions of your purchase order or any other correspondence.

The reverse side of this “customer’s acknowlegment” contains a group of “STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS,” including among others the following

3. Neither party hereto shall be liable for any failure or delay in delivering, repairing, or replacing the equipment or any portion thereof if such failure or delay is due to fire, strike, labor controversy, inability to obtain labor, materials or components from usual sources of supply, government order, or any other cause or circumstance beyond the reasonable control of the party obligated to act; provided, however, that if any material called for hereunder is to be suspended or terminated for any reason, Buyer agrees to take delivery of and make payment for such material as has been completed and is in the process as of the date of termination.
Seller reserves the right at any time to allocate its supply available for sale among any or all purchasers on such basis as it may deem fair and practical without liability for any failure to delivery which may result from allocation.
8. Seller shall not be bound by any terms provisions, or conditions relating to the sale or lease of equipment to Buyer other than those expressly provided for in Seller’s invoice, written proposal, purchase order acknowledgment, lease, or this instrument, unless expressly assented to by Seller in writing. In the event that any provisions of Buyer’s purchase order are inconsistent with any of the provisions of this instrument or of Seller’s invoice, proposal, lease, or purchase order acknowledgment, the provisions of this instrument or of Seller’s invoice, proposal, lease or purchase order acknowledgment shall control.

The plaintiffs acknowledgment also contained on its face the provision: “Requested Shipping Date 12-16-77. ” The defendant received the acknowledgment and the plaintiff never received a written objection to its terms.

After August 24, 1977, the plaintiff ordered a new recirculation pump and did some work on the used ultrafiltration system which two years earlier it had manufactured for another corporation. The other customer had returned the system to the plaintiff after using it for a period of time.

[166]*166Both prior to and after September 19, 1977, representatives of the plaintiff and defendant conversed about the delivery date of equipment. The defendant advised the plaintiff that in order for the defendant to qualify for an investment tax credit, its new electrostat machine of which the plaintiffs system was an integral part had to be in operation prior to the end of 1977. The plaintiff notified the defendant that it had ordered and was waiting delivety of a new recirculation pump from one of the plaintiffs usual sources of supply.

On December 6 and 9, 1977, the defendant inquired as to the delivery status of the machinery. The plaintiff advised that the new pump would not be shipped until December 22, 1977, but that it could immediately deliver the ultrafiltration system in working order with the old pump to the defendant, and could install the new pump without charge when it arrived.

By letter dated December 9,1977, the defendant cancelled its order with the explanation that “ as of December 9, 1977 the delay of the original order of August 19, 1977 has caused undue problems and expense. As a result of the lengthy delay and indefinite completed delivery date, we have made other arrangements for the ultrafiltration system, and thereby have no use for your system.”

The plaintiff received the pump in January 1978 and although its invoice to the defendant was dated December 12, 1978 this invoice was first forwarded to the defendant by the plaintiffs attached letter dated January 9, 1978

After the defendant failed to honor the plaintiffs invoice, the plaintiff attempted to re-sell the complete unit with the new pump by notifying customers of its availability for sale. To date, the plaintiff has been unable to sell the equipment and it remains at the plaintiffs place of business.

At the close of the evidence, the defendant filed the following requests for rulings:

1. That the documents submitted to the defendant on or about August 15,1977 by W. James Allshouse constituted an offer to sell the goods listed on that document to the defendant. See Mass. Gen. Laws Chapter 106, § 2-205.
2. That the defendant’s purchase order submitted to the plaintiff on or about August 19, 1977 constituted a valid acceptance of the offer submitted by W. James Allshouse to the defendant on or about August 15, 1977.
3. That the plaintiff breached its contract with the defendant by failing to deliver the goods on the date promised in its offer and accepted by the plaintiff in its purchase order.
4. The defendant’s letter dated December 9,1977 notifying the plaintiff that it no longer had any use for the goods in question was a justifiable revocation of acceptance due to the plaintiffs failure to make delivery. See Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 106, § 2-711.
5. Defendant’s letter dated December 9, 1977 constitutes a retraction of any waiver of strict performance by the plaintiff of the delivery date specified in the defendant’s purchase order and said retraction was not unjust in view of the fact that plaintiff had not materially changed its position in reliance on any such waiver. See Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 106, § 2-290(5).
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Bluebook (online)
1981 Mass. App. Div. 164, 2 Mass. Supp. 703, 1981 Mass. App. Div. LEXIS 92, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/romicon-inc-v-l-j-of-new-england-inc-massdistctapp-1981.