Bonanza Fuel, Inc. v. Delta W., Inc.
United States District Court for the District of Alaska
2013 WL 12120092 (2013)
Facts
Bonanza Fuel, Inc. (plaintiff) was based in Nome, Alaska. Delta W., Inc. (defendant) was a fuel supplier. Bonanza contracted with Delta for Delta to provide Bonanza with fuel by shipping the fuel to a port in Nome during the 2011 summer barge season. But when the time came for Delta to deliver the fuel to Bonanza, the harbor in Nome froze over, and Delta claimed to have suffered multiple delays in being able to deliver the fuel. In addition, Delta attempted to make arrangements with the United States Coast Guard to deliver the fuel, and there was no evidence that the Coast Guard was unable to accomplish this, despite Delta never actually utilizing it to deliver the fuel. But further delays resulted, and as a result, Bonanza terminated Delta as its fuel supplier and contracted with Vitus Marine, LLC, for delivery of the fuel. Vitus successfully delivered the fuel. Bonanza then sued Delta for breach of contract and moved for summary judgment. Delta opposed summary judgment on the ground that the freezing over of Nome’s port was a force majeure event and that, as a result, the impracticability defense barred Bonanza from recovering.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Burgess, J.)
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