Combine at dusk

Combine at dusk

Friday, September 3, 2010

Manitoba farmer wins Leo Birdsfoot Trefoil lawsuit

Manitoba farmer Engelbert Fischer was awarded a judgment of $21,006.79 plus pre-judgment interest against Dyck Forage & Grasses Ltd. in a claim before the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba.  Fischer had sold his 2002 and 2003 crops to the Defendant company under a contract that required the seed to satisfy a germination count of 75.  The Defendant's representative told Fischer that the germination count was in the 90's and agreed to pay $1.50 per pound for the seed.  Then the Defendant turned around and paid only $1.25, saying the germination count was insufficient.  The real dispute seemed to arise in 2004 when prices for the seed escalated to $2.00 per pound, a price the Defendant company was not willing to pay. 

In ruling in favour of Fischer, the Court found that:
(i) there was no basis for the defendant’s unilaterally reducing the price of the seed to $1.25 per pound, let alone $1.30 or $1.40 as indicated in the written agreement;
(ii) there was no discussion at the inception of the transaction of analysis by anyone other than the defendant’s employee;

(iii) there was no discussion of the seed having to satisfy a purchaser; and

(iv) there was no discussion that the plaintiff would have to wait for payment until all the seed was sold or that he would have to sell the 2004 crop as part of the transaction.
Read the decision at: Fischer v. Dyck Forage and Grasses Ltd.

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