Jon-T Farms, Inc. v. Goodpasture, Inc.

Goodpasture, Inc. (Goodpasture) (plaintiff) contracted to buy grain from Jon-T Farms, Inc. (Jon-T) (defendant). Under the contract, Jon-T was supposed to deliver 10 million pounds of grain between October and November 1973. Goodpasture would pay $2.70 for every 100 pounds of grain. At the end of November 1973, however, Jon-T had only delivered about 2 million pounds of grain to Goodpasture. In December 1973, Goodpasture sued Jon-T for breach of contract. Around that time, Jon-T delivered another 2 million pounds of grain to Goodpasture. Ultimately, the case went to trial. The evidence showed that the market price of grain had risen steadily between the time the contract was formed and the time Jon-T was supposed to deliver the grain. Goodpasture was in the business of buying and selling grain, and it did not keep grain bought from one source separate from grain bought from another source. The jury awarded damages to Goodpasture based on the difference between the contract price and the market price of grain at the time of breach. Jon-T appealed, arguing that Goodpasture had bought replacement grain to make up for Jon-T’s failure to deliver, and, therefore, damages should be the difference between the contract price and the replacement-grain price. Jon-T also argued that Goodpasture had not introduced evidence of the cost of replacement grain and, thus, could not recover at all.