Breach of Contract

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Civil

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Officials: POSNER, SYKES, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Breach of Contract

No. 14-1342; 14-1283; 14-1267 Pileco, Inc. v. Slurry Systems, Inc. et al

Defendant-appellant reneging on paying leasing fees because of alleged “defects” breached agreement with subcontractor

“There is no evidence that any problems with the cutter during its lease by Slurry had anything to do with the ma‐ chine’s age. If age had nothing to do with those problems, the violation of the newness clause could not have harmed Slurry—if there was a violation, which is uncertain because of the evidence just summarized and also because the meaning of “new” in the lease is uncertain. Does the word mean newly designed, newly manufactured, or never used? (It could mean any of those things.) Obviously the machine had been designed and manufactured before the lease was signed, yet there is no evidence that any of the problems with the machine that Slurry claims to have encountered while working on the Corps of Engineers project were attributable either to the cutter’s age or to any prior use. In Isaiah we read that “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” A 40‐ton hunk of steel will not stand forever, but neither will it wither like the grass or fade like the flower.”

Affirmed in part

Reversed and Remanded in part

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.