Erving Paper Mills v. Hudson-Sharp Machine Co.

• Decision Date: 20 June 1967
• Docket Number: No. 59-C-18.,59-C-18.
• Citation: 271 F. Supp. 1017
• Parties: ERVING PAPER MILLS, a Massachusetts Corporation, Plaintiff, v. HUDSON-SHARP MACHINE CO., a Wisconsin Corporation, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Wisconsin

271 F. Supp. 1017

ERVING PAPER MILLS, a Massachusetts Corporation, Plaintiff, v. HUDSON-SHARP MACHINE CO., a Wisconsin Corporation, Defendant.

No. 59-C-18.

United States District Court E. D. Wisconsin.

April 20, 1967.

Order May 18, 1967.

On Motion for Allowance of Costs June 20, 1967.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

E. L. Everson, of Everson, Whitney, O'Melia, Everson & Brehm, Green Bay, Wis., for plaintiff.

Maxwell H. Herriott, of Quarles, Herriott, Clemons, Teschner & Noelke, Milwaukee, Wis., for defendant.

DECISION

GRUBB, Senior District Judge.

This is an action for breach of contract by failure to deliver certain wrapping machinery, hereinafter called the "Campbell Wrappers," purchased by plaintiff from defendant. The history of the case and the facts underlying the determination of liability are reported in Erving Paper Mills v. Hudson-Sharp Machine Co., 223 F.Supp. 913 (E.D.Wis. 1963), rev'd. 332 F.2d 674 (7th Cir. 1964) cert. denied 379 U.S. 946, 85 S.Ct. 440, 13 L.Ed.2d 544. The question of damages, severed from the issue of liability on stipulation of the parties, was referred to a Special Master. The case is now before the court on the objections of both parties to the Master's findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Defendant, Hudson-Sharp Machine Company, hereinafter referred to as "Hudson-Sharp," objects to allowance of damages based on the finding that plaintiff entered into the agreement on the inducement of Hudson-Sharp's oral representation that use of the Campbell Wrappers would result in a labor saving of three employees over plaintiff's corresponding napkin handwrapping operations, and further, to computation of damages based on the assumption that Hudson-Sharp is liable for damages for failure to deliver two rather than one machine.

Plaintiff, Erving Paper Mills, hereinafter calling "Erving," objects to the reduction of the amount of recovery based on the finding that it failed to meet its duty of mitigation, and to disallowance of damages predicated on the theory of savings that Erving contends would have resulted from increased efficiency in production by use of the Campbell Wrappers. Additionally, Erving objects to the failure to include allowance of interest from the date of the determination of liability to date of entry of final judgment in the case.

Basis of Recovery Allowed by Master

The record before the Master shows that in the discussions between the parties leading to the execution of the contract reference was made to labor savings that would be realized by use of the Campbell Wrappers. The then current process at Erving required eight employees to service the napkin folding machinery and the manual wrapping operations. A representative of Hudson-Sharp who was familiar with the operations at Erving made the representation that the entire process could be accomplished with three employees operating the two folding machines and one Campbell Wrapper if the latter were substituted for the manual wrapping operations. After some modification of the Campbell Wrapper, it was understood that one more girl, for a total of four employees, would be required. Sometime after Hudson-Sharp breached the agreement, Erving instituted an improvement in its manual operations which reduced the number of employees required therefor to a total of seven. Although installation of the Campbell Wrappers would have required some machinery maintenance service, Erving could have furnished this by more efficient utilization of other already available personnel.

In light of this evidence, the finding of the Master that Erving was induced to enter into the agreement on Hudson-Sharp's representation that use of the Campbell Wrappers would result in a labor saving of three employees per wrapping machine has a basis in credible evidence and is, therefore, not clearly erroneous. The finding furnishes a reasonable basis for the computation of damages resulting from the breach. It is hereby affirmed.

There is some ambiguity in the contract as to the number of napkin wrapping machines purchased by Erving. The document refers to a date certain for delivery of one machine and indicates that delivery of the second machine is to be postponed until the former is in satisfactory operation at Erving and until a decision is reached as to the product to be packaged thereby. It is evident from the provisions of the written contract as well as from other contemporary discussions between the parties that Erving and Hudson-Sharp understood that the second Campbell Wrapper also would be utilized for processing of paper napkins. There is no uncertainty as to the obligation undertaken by Hudson-Sharp to manufacture and deliver to Erving two Campbell Wrappers. Its failure to deliver the first made impossible the fulfillment of conditions necessary for delivery of the second. Under these circumstances the determination that liability is to be predicated on failure to deliver two machines rests on a reasonable construction of the contract of the parties and, further, is consistent with the previous determination of liability in the case which Hudson-Sharp did not challenge in this respect. The finding is affirmed.

Mitigation of Damages

The Master recognized that Erving acted in compliance with its duty to mitigate damages by ordering two wrapping machines of the same capacities as the Campbell Wrappers from the Ouillette Company after notice of Hudson-Sharp's default. Actual delivery of the Ouillette machines was made approximately ten months after the date of promised delivery. The Master found that Erving, by waiver of Ouillette's late delivery failed to that extent in its obligation to mitigate and accordingly reduced the damage period by disallowance of losses for the ten months period of delay. He further suggested certain steps Erving, in his opinion, should have taken to fulfill its obligation of minimizing the loss. To quote his finding:

"The record does not disclose that the plaintiff made any threats of legal action to Ouillette because of the breach of delivery promises of the `mitigating' contract. There is no evidence that the plaintiff put any kind of pressure on Ouillette with reference to keeping the delivery date, either before or after said date. Neither did the plaintiff file the statutory notice pre-requisite to recovery of damages for late delivery."

The import of this suggested course of conduct would impose on Erving the duty to litigate its claim against Ouillette, or at least take steps to preserve any cause of action it might have had based on delayed delivery.

An injured party has an obligation of using all ordinary care and making all reasonable exertions to render the loss as light as possible. Thurner Heat Treating Company v. Memco, Inc., 252 Wis. 16, 26, 30 N.W.2d 228 (1947); O'Brien v. Isaacs, 17 Wis.2d 261, 266, 267, 116 N.W.2d 246 (1962). The weight of authority places the burden on the wrongdoer to show that the acts undertaken by the injured party in mitigation of its damages fall short of constituting ordinary and reasonable efforts to minimize the loss. See for example, Maurer v. United States, 219 F.Supp. 253, 256 (E.D.Wis.1963), where it was held that, under Iowa law, the injured party is not required to make what might have been a useless gesture. Wisconsin apparently is in accord. See Schmidt v. Schabow, 265 Wis. 154, 160, 60 N.W.2d 735, 38 A.L.R.2d 1449 (1953) and Kennedy-Ingalls Corporation v. Feissner, 11 Wis. 2d 371, 387, 105 N.W.2d 748 (1960) to the effect that a defendant must plead and show failure to mitigate. And, it has been held that the injured party is not an accounting trustee for the wrongdoer. Tampa Electric Company v. Nashville Coal Company, 214 F.Supp. 647, 652 (M.D.Tenn.1963).

The record before the Master is devoid of any evidence that would indicate that the course of action suggested by the Master would have hastened delivery of the Ouillette machines, or that preservation of a cause of action or instituting suit against Ouillette would have been attended by a reasonable expectation of successful recovery. Further, there is no evidence whatsoever that any recovery against Ouillette, offset by the expense of litigation, would equal Erving's losses during the ten months period of delay.

Little authority deals with the question of necessity of litigation or other legal action as part of the duty to mitigate. A few decisions hold that such a step was not indicated under the circumstances of the case. For example, in Wolters Village Management Company v. Merchants and Planters National Bank of Sherman, 223 F.2d 793, 800, 801 (5th Cir. 1955), the injured party was not held to have acted unreasonably where it failed to notify the wrongdoer that he was acting in breach of an agreement which would have reduced the loss. Also, in T. C. Bateson Construction Company v. United States, 319 F.2d 135, 160, 162 Ct. Cl. 145 (1963), the injured party was not required to resort to seeking an injunction against a secondary boycott where it was uncertain whether or not this would have been successful or would have shortened a delay. The situation in O'Brien v. Isaacs, 17 Wis.2d 261, 116 N.W.2d 246, supra, is not analogous to the facts of the instant case. There, defendant, a parking lot manager, wrongfully detained plaintiff's automobile for non-payment of additional parking fees. The court held that plaintiff was not required to tender the demanded fee, and that he minimized damages sufficiently by attempting to secure the return of the car, including resort to legal process on the first following business day.

Although the Master made no ruling on the question of the burden of showing the reasonableness of the mitigating conduct, a colloquy on the hearing suggests that he looked to Erving to furnish this proof, contrary to accepted rule. In view of the absence of any evidence of record as to the probable success of any additional steps in mitigation required by the...