Simmons Foods, Inc. v. Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.

After Simmons (plaintiff) invested in equipment to supply specialized poultry meal to HPN (defendant), a 1997 fax listing 1998 terms became the basis for Simmons's claim of a three-year agreement, but the actual signed contracts specified only one-year durations and quantities; when the relationship ended after a 1999 pricing dispute, Simmons sued for breach of the alleged three-year deal and for promissory estoppel based on its equipment investment made in reliance on an oral long-term promise, and the district court granted HPN summary judgment on both claims.