Publicker Industries v. Union Carbide Corp.

17 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (Callaghan) 989 (1975)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
P
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Publicker Industries v. Union Carbide Corp.

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
17 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (Callaghan) 989 (1975)

SC

Facts

In 1972, Union Carbide Corporation (defendant) contracted to sell ethanol to Publicker Industries (plaintiff) for a period of three years. The contract contained a detailed formula for calculating the price of the ethanol. Union’s costs were part of the formula, but the contract placed caps on the price Publicker could pay. By 1974, Union’s costs had become so high as a result of the 1973 Middle East War that it told Publicker that if Publicker did not agree to amend the agreement, Union would cease providing ethanol. Publicker refused and then brought suit seeking specific performance of the contract. Union presented evidence that its costs had doubled and that absent modification it would lose approximately $5.8 million on the contract. The parties agreed that the court would make a preliminary ruling on whether it could amend the contract.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Weiner, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 811,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Contracts

Key Terms