Cravotta v. Deggingers' Foundry, Inc.

Mark Cravotta (plaintiff) hired Deggingers' Foundry (defendant) to manufacture custom light fixtures for his home for roughly $106,000; when Deggingers failed to deliver on time, Cravotta sued for breach and the parties settled, with Deggingers agreeing to deliver the remaining fixtures and pay Cravotta's legal fees. Deggingers again failed to deliver on time, blaming Cravotta for not providing electrical information needed to safely wire the fixtures given the home's unique electrical system, and pointed to extensive email communications about the project as evidence of a course of dealing establishing this duty; the trial court ruled for Cravotta, holding neither the original contract nor the settlement agreement explicitly required Cravotta to supply that information, and reasoning that the statute of frauds required any such duty to be in a signed writing. Deggingers appealed.