Eastern Airlines, Inc. v. McDonnell Douglas Corp. case brief

Eastern Airlines, Inc. v. McDonnell Douglas Corp.; (5^th Cir, 1976); CB 1041; Notes 65

§2-615 Excuse by Failure of Presupposed Conditions
• Facts: P sued D for breach of jet delivery b/c 2 months late, claim loss of profit, D claimed late b/c supervening national emergency w/war. P has Ks that depend on timely delivery, evidence indicating importance of timely deliveries. D delivers almost all of the planes substantially late, stating that they had other work to do and the Vietnam War was going on so they could not meet the production schedule
• Terms: contract for planes; D unable to deliver because of Vietnam War gov’t restrictions
• Holding: Although K entered into when war escalating and wasn’t unanticipated contingency as req’d under UCC, Court still allows excuse. The Code allocated this type of excuse. D not liable