Mel Frank Tool & Supply, Inc. v. Di-Chem Co.

Di-Chem Co. (defendant) leased property from Mel Frank Tool & Supply, Inc. (plaintiff) to store chemicals, including some deemed hazardous, under a lease requiring compliance with city ordinances; after the city amended its fire code to prohibit storing hazardous materials there, an inspection found violations, and Di-Chem told Mel Frank it would relocate. Mel Frank sued for the resulting lease obligations, and Di-Chem raised impossibility as a defense, but its own October letter and a representative's trial testimony both indicated only a portion, not all, of its chemical inventory was affected by the new ordinance; the trial court ruled for Mel Frank, and Di-Chem appealed.