Midwest Grain Products of Illinois, Inc. v. Productization, Inc. and CMI Corp.

Midwest Grain Products (Midwest) (plaintiff) contracted with Productization, Inc. (PI) (defendant) to buy grain dryers, and PI in turn contracted with CMI Corp. (CMI) (defendant) to manufacture them; CMI, which had no other dealings with Midwest, asked Midwest to sign a letter agreeing to make checks payable to PI and CMI jointly, which Midwest did. When Midwest had problems with the dryers, it sued both PI and CMI for breach of warranty, settled with PI, and the district court granted CMI summary judgment; Midwest appealed that ruling, and CMI cross-appealed the denial of attorneys' fees.