Hathaway v. Sabin
Supreme Court of Vermont
22 A. 633 (Vt. 1891)
Hathaway (plaintiff), representing four musicians, contracted with Sabin (defendant) for Sabin to provide an opera house and pay $75 for a concert. A snowstorm before the concert led Sabin to assume the musicians could not travel and to tell Hathaway the concert would be impossible, so he never prepared the opera house — but the musicians nonetheless made it by train and were ready to perform. Because Sabin had not prepared the venue, the concert could not go forward, and he refused to pay. The trial court directed a verdict for Hathaway.
Whether a party who overcomes performance difficulties and is ultimately able to perform may still be deprived of the contract's benefits based on the other party's unconfirmed assumption that performance would be impossible.