Micro Capital Investors, Inc. v. Broyhill Furniture Industries, Inc.

Micro Capital Investors (Micro) (plaintiff) and a co-buyer purchased a manufacturing plant from Broyhill Furniture Industries (Broyhill) (defendant), which shared a single wood-boiler heating system with an adjacent warehouse Broyhill still used. The sale agreement let the buyers charge Broyhill one-fourth "of the total heating bill for the Premises," but never defined what costs that phrase included. Years later, the tenant sought roughly $385,000 for a quarter of accumulated heating costs, including consumables, utilities, boiler-dust machinery rental, labor, and insurance; Broyhill paid $50,000 but disputed the rest, arguing customary heating charges cover only fuel, operator wages, and a nominal utility fee. The trial court found the term too indefinite to enforce and dismissed Micro's breach claim, and Micro appealed.