Transatlantic Financing Corp. v. United States
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
363 F.2d 312 (1966)
Relevant factsFree
The U.S. (defendant) chartered Transatlantic (plaintiff) to ship wheat to Iran via what was expected to be the Suez Canal route, but after Israel's invasion of Egypt closed the Canal, Transatlantic rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, adding roughly 3,000 miles to a 10,000-mile voyage and $43,000 to a $304,000 contract cost, and sued for additional compensation on an impossibility theory after the trial court dismissed its claim.
IssueFree
Whether a sudden change of circumstances requiring an adjustment of route or method renders performance of a contract legally impossible.