Curtice Brothers Co. v. Catts – Case Brief
Curtice Bros. Co. v. Catts, 66 A. 935 (1907).
Facts: Catts (D) agreed to sell the entire tomato crop of a certain piece of land to tomato canning company Curtice Brothers Co. (P). P’s factory had a capacity of one million cans of tomatoes and the tomato packing season lasted six weeks. P had scheduled the tomato canning operations to be conducted during the six week packing season. P sought specific performance when D refused to deliver the tomatoes, pleading that refusal to deliver would result in irreparable damage to P. The court awarded specific performance to P and D contested the authority of the court to grant specific performance.
Issue: Whether a supply contract under these circumstances demands application of the remedy of specific performance.
Holding and Rule: Yes. In this case the P undertook great effort to secure a sufficient supply of tomatoes for efficient use of resources in its canning operation. Specific performance was a proper remedy.
Disposition: Affirmed.