Selland Pontiac-GMC, Inc. v. King
Minnesota Court of Appeals
384 N.W.2d 490 (1986)
George King (defendant) contracted to supply Selland Pontiac-GMC (plaintiff) with four school bus bodies to be built by Superior Manufacturing, a supplier specifically named in the contract, with neither party aware at the time that Superior was in financial distress; Superior later went into receivership and ultimately ceased operations entirely, preventing the bus bodies from ever being manufactured. Selland, after its own customer canceled its order and it sold the chassis at a loss, sued King for breach; the trial court, applying Minnesota's UCC Section 2-615, found the contract contemplated Superior as the source and ruled for King, and Selland appealed.
Whether a seller may avoid breach through the defense of impracticability if a source of supply stated in the contract and constituting a basic assumption of the agreement becomes unavailable.