Williams v. Medalist Golf, Inc.

Chris Williams, doing business as Cane Creek Sod (Cane Creek) (plaintiff), supplied, grew, and delivered sod. Medalist Golf, Inc. (Medalist) (defendant) built high-end golf courses. At Big Cedar Lodge, Medalist was building a golf course designed by Gary Player for Ozarks Golf and Hunt Club (Ozarks Golf). Medalist’s project manager, Todd Tilton, sought sod bids for the project. Tilton informed Cane Creek employee Mark Woodard that the sod was for use on a high-end golf course for a very important client. Medalist and Cane Creek entered into a grass-supplier agreement (GSA) for the Gary Player-designed golf course at Big Cedar Lodge. The GSA provided that Cane Creek guaranteed the quality and specification of the sod provided to Medalist. Williams understood the GSA to mean that he was going to provide sod with Meyer Zoysia grass of the quality that satisfied the customer, Ozarks Golf, and if the customer was not satisfied, then Cane Creek would fix it. Todd Bohn, the golf course’s director of agronomy, inspected the field from which the sod would be harvested and instructed Medalist to reject the sod for failing to meet the standards for a Gary Player-designed golf course. Williams sued for breach of contract. Williams argued that rejection was wrongful because (1) a third-party expert testified that his sod was high quality, weed free, and healthy; (2) the Missouri Department of Agriculture inspected his sod and found no weed contaminates; and (3) another golf course was satisfied with the sod. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Medalist. Williams appealed.