Battle Axe Constr., L.L.C. v. H. Hafner & Sons, Inc.

Citations

• 2019 Ohio 4191

Syllabus

CONTRACTS – IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE – STATUTE OF FRAUDS – DAMAGES – MITIGATION: The trial court did not err in finding that the statute of frauds was satisfied where the parties exchanged emails detailing the essential terms of the contract, and where defendant seller sold soil to plaintiff buyer, allowed plaintiff to pick up the soil, and accepted payment from plaintiff. The trial court did not err in finding an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose where defendant knew that plaintiff was seeking to purchase compactible soil for use in construction and was relying on defendant's skill and judgment to provide compactible soil, and plaintiff actually relied on defendant's skill and judgment in purchasing the soil. Plaintiff's conduct did not frustrate defendant's ability to perform under the contract where plaintiff's removal of the soil was foreseeable, defendant authorized plaintiff's trucks to pick up the soil, and defendant charged plaintiff's credit card each time a load was picked up. Plaintiff took reasonable care to mitigate its damages where defendant would not answer plaintiff's calls or emails attempting to resolve the problem, the soil was unfit to be used for its intended purpose, the construction projects were at a standstill until plaintiff removed the unfit soil, and returning the soil to defendant would have required plaintiff's trucks to drive the soil an hour back to defendant's business as opposed to 15 minutes to unload the unfit soil at a nearby farm.