The Napa and Sonoma fires have destroyed thousands of properties. This post addresses the obligations of the buyer and seller when grapes or vineyards are destroyed by fire.
The wine country fires destroyed many vineyards. In many cases, the grapes had not yet been harvested, resulting in a total loss of the 2017 crop. Many of these grapes were under contracts of sale. The seller/vineyard owner (obviously) cannot perform. The first thing which should be done is for the seller to notify the buyer as soon as possible of the destruction of the grapes. Upon receipt of such notice, the buyer has a duty to mitigate damages. Generally, this will mean attempting to purchase grapes from another source. Unless the grape purchase contract allocates losses in a different manner, in most cases, the seller’s performance should be excused. There are a number of ways to reach this result. First, under Section 2613 of the California Commercial Code, where goods are identified (e.g., grapes from a certain vineyard), the total loss of such grapes results in the termination of the contract without any further liability. If, however, the loss is partial (e.g., half of the vineyard is destroyed), the buyer may demand an inspection, and thereafter, either cancel the agreement, or accept the undamaged grapes with an allowance in the purchase price for the decreased quantity. Second, under Section 2615 of the California Commercial Code, if the seller is unable to perform due to the occurrence of a contingency (i.e. a fire) the non-occurrence of which was a basic assumption on which the contract was made, the contract may be avoided. This is the defense of “impracticability.” Third, many grape purchase agreements have a force majeure clause which can likewise excuse performance. A typical force majeure clause can read something like the following: “If either Seller or Purchaser is unable to carry on its normal operations or is compelled to reduce or suspend its operations because of forces beyond its immediate control, including but not by way of limitation, laws, regulations, court orders, labor disputes, breakdown of machinery, lack of transportation, interruption of power, fire, catastrophe, earthquake, war, civil commotion, quarantine, weather, drought, frost, and other action of the elements, crop failure or shortage, Act of God, or other matters beyond its immediate control, then the party so affected shall, while so affected, be relieved to the extent it is prevented from performing its obligations hereunder, but in such event, said party shall take reasonable measure to remove the disability and resume full performance at the earliest possible date.” In the event a part of a vineyard was destroyed, and more than one buyer had contract to purchase grapes from that vineyard, the seller is required to allocate between the multiple buyers in a reasonable manner. The seller is also required to notify the buyers of their respective expected quotas.
10 Comments
11/23/2017 04:46:39 am
الرعاية الافضل في مصر من داخل دار مسنين متميزة في رعاية المسنين بكافة حالاتهم و توفير جليسة المسنين في المنزل باقل الاسعار موقعنا:
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12/30/2018 02:39:42 am
فريق عمل متخصص من صيانة البا يمكنك التواصل معه في اي وقت ومن اي مكان في مصر وخاصة اننا نعمل علي توفير احدث معدات للصيانة والعمل علي متابعة تدريب فريق الصيانة في اسرع وقت ممكن للتماشي مع اعمال الصيانة الاحدث ومتابعة كل ما هو جديد من توكيل البا للوصول الي افضل النتائج وفي اسرع وقت ممكن تعرف علي مجموعه متخصصة من خبراء الصيانة والذين يقوموا باعمال مميزه وفي اسرع وقت ممكن تابع كل ما هو افضل للوصول الي افضل النتائج في اصلاح جميع الاعطال فورا علي ايدي خبراء من خدمة عملاء البا تعرف علي الافضل الان وقم بالتواصل معنا لطلب خدمة مميزه من خلال صيانة البا الخط الساخن تواصل الان معنا من خلال رقم صيانة افران البا تواصل الان فورا ومن خلال توكيل صيانة البا للتعرف علي المزيد من الخدمات والوصول الي اغعمال الصيانة المعتمدة التي تضمن اليك العمل في اسرع وقت ومن اي مكان في مصر وخاصة اننا نوفر الخدمة المجانية من اي مكان في محافظات مصر ويمكنك متابعة كل ما هو جديد في عا
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11/6/2019 06:01:28 am
https://www.altheqa-eg.com/stone-prices/
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2/24/2020 10:02:55 am
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2/24/2020 10:07:58 am
http://emc-mee.com/blog.html شركات نقل العفش
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2/24/2020 10:21:17 am
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2/24/2020 10:23:15 am
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2/24/2020 10:25:00 am
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2/24/2020 10:28:08 am
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2/24/2020 10:31:12 am
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blogHi. I'm Stephen Flynn. Attorney and founder of the Law Offices of Stephen M. Flynn. This is my blog. Enjoy! Archives
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