McMillan v. Meuser Material and Equipment Co.
Arkansas Supreme Court
541 S.W.2d 911 (1976)
McMillan (defendant) contracted to buy a bulldozer from Meuser Material and Equipment Company (plaintiff) for $9,825, but a miscommunication over the delivery date led McMillan to stop payment when he believed delivery was late. Fourteen months later, after a recession had depressed the bulldozer market, Meuser resold the bulldozer for only $7,230, despite knowing about the market decline and not attempting resale until well after the breach. The trial court awarded Meuser the difference between the contract price and this delayed resale price, plus incidental costs, and McMillan appealed.
Whether, under the Uniform Commercial Code, resale of goods after a breach is probative of market value at the time performance was due only if the resale occurs within a commercially reasonable time after the breach.