Egerer v. CSR West, LLC

Facts

Egerer (Plaintiff) required a substantial amount of fill to make his 10-acre parcel of land suitable for development. He contracted with CSR West, LLC (Defendant) to transport material from a highway excavation to his site at the rate of $.50 per cubic yard. Shortly thereafter, Defendant stopped supplying fill to Plaintiff because it was more profitable for Defendant to supply the material to another party. After Defendant’s breach, Plaintiff did not purchase replacement fill from another supplier because it would have been too expensive and there would have been insufficient time to complete the project. Several months later, he obtained price quotes for replacement fill ranging from $8.25 to $9.00 per cubic yard, but the prices exceeded his budget. A year after the Defendant’s breach Plaintiff purchased fill material resulting from an unexpected landslide at a cost of $6.39 per cubic yard. He subsequently filed suit claiming damages of the difference between the contract price and the $8.25 estimate he first received. The trial court found breach and awarded damages for non-delivery. Defendant appealed, contending the court erred in its calculation of the damages by relying on the market price of a superior product six months after the buyer learned of the breach.