Bio-Tech Pharmacal, Inc. v. International Business Connections, LLC

184 S.W.3d 447 (2004)

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Bio-Tech Pharmacal, Inc. v. International Business Connections, LLC

Arkansas Court of Appeals
184 S.W.3d 447 (2004)

  • Written by Tammy Boggs, JD

Facts

Bio-Tech Pharmacal, Inc. (Bio-Tech) (defendant) manufactured nutritional supplements. International Business Connections, LLC (IBC) (plaintiff) was a procurer of raw materials. For a period of four months, Bio-Tech placed 17 orders for materials from IBC. According to IBC’s president, Detleff Fuhrmann, Furhmann had nearly daily contact with Bio-Tech during the period in question. Furhmann would call and inform Bio-Tech of the price and availability of certain material that Bio-Tech needed. If Bio-Tech agreed to those terms, Bio-Tech would issue a purchase order to IBC. The purchase orders contained the material, quantity, unit price, total price, and shipping address, along with six “terms of contract.” One of the terms of the contract was an immediate fax/email confirmation of the order and price. IBC never faxed or emailed any confirmation. Instead, IBC ordered the material from a third-party supplier, paying for it in advance. After the material was shipped to Bio-Tech, IBC sent an invoice to Bio-Tech, referencing Bio-Tech’s purchase-order number. Furhmann stated that order confirmations were done via telephone. Bio-Tech received and paid for several orders without any fax/email confirmation. However, at one point, Bio-Tech attempted to cancel orders after IBC had already shipped the materials to Bio-Tech. Bio-Tech refused to pay for three purchase orders totaling over $12,000. IBC sued Bio-Tech to collect payment, and Bio-Tech argued defensively that contracts were never formed because IBC had not properly accepted the offers via fax/email confirmation. The trial court found that contracts were formed pursuant to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). The court denied Bio-Tech’s motion for a directed verdict and entered judgment in IBC’s favor. Bio-Tech appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Bird, J.)

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