Crane Ice Cream Co. v. Terminal Freezing & Heating Co.

Frederick had a long-term ice supply contract with Terminal (defendant), under which he consistently ordered roughly the same amount of ice weekly and exclusively from Terminal, though he wasn't contractually required to; Terminal's willingness to maintain the arrangement rested on trust in Frederick's personal character and consistent practices. When Frederick retired and sold his ice cream plant, he assigned his rights and obligations under the Terminal contract to Crane Ice Cream (plaintiff), a much larger company, without informing or obtaining consent from Terminal, which then refused to deal with Crane; the trial court ruled for Terminal, and Crane appealed.