Raw Materials, Inc. v. Manfred Forberich GmbH & Co.
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
2004 WL 1535839 (2004)
Raw Materials, Inc. (plaintiff) contracted to buy 15,000 to 18,000 metric tons of used rail from Manfred Forberich GmbH & Co. (defendant), who planned to source the rail from Russia and deliver it by a deadline later extended to December 31, 2002; that winter turned out to be St. Petersburg's coldest in 60 years, freezing the port so completely that even ice breakers were trapped and no ships could leave for months, preventing Forberich from loading or delivering the rails by the deadline. Raw Materials sued for breach of contract and moved for summary judgment, while Forberich raised force majeure, arguing the unforeseeable freeze made performance impossible.
Whether the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods allows parties to raise the defense of force majeure against a breach of contract claim.