6th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Breach of Contract Claims against Blasting Company
Reminger attorneys Ralph Burnham and Kelly Ratliff recently secured an appellate win for their blasting company client.
Plaintiff, a land development company, alleged our client breached an agreement to provide certain guaranteed results because it was unhappy with the results of our client’s blasting operations. Plaintiff sought over $200,000 in damages. On behalf of our client, we argued our client never guaranteed specific results. Instead, we maintained the blasting work performed was consistent with the description in the proposal bid terms. Unfortunately, Plaintiff never provided written acceptance of the bid proposal terms. And no other written contract existed. We, therefore, argued a signed contract was unnecessary and that assent to the bid terms was reflected by the fact Plaintiff invited our client to perform the blasting work after receiving the bid. On summary judgment, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky agreed the bid terms were controlled, even though no written contract existed, and dismissed the Plaintiff’s claims against our client. The District Court also granted our client’s counterclaim and awarded our client its reasonable attorneys’ fees.
In a unanimous decision, the Sixth Circuit agreed that even in the absence of a signed agreement, the terms of the bid proposal governed the parties’ relationship. As a result, the Sixth Circuit upheld the dismissal of Plaintiff’s Complaint as well as the award of attorneys’ fees in our client’s favor.