Pass Creek Enterprises Ltd. v. Kootenay Custom Log Sort Ltd.

Pass Creek Enterprises Ltd. v. Kootenay Custom Log Sort Ltd.

The court upheld the trial judge's finding that the term 'estimated volume' and the parties' course of dealings required Kootenay to accept logs beyond 4,000 m³ (trial judge correctly applied contra proferentem against Kootenay as drafter); however specification cards were incorporated only to the extent they were...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
2003 BCCA 580
Parties
Respondent/plaintiff: Pass Creek Enterprises Ltd.; Appellant/defendant: Kootenay Custom Log Sort Ltd.
Court
British Columbia Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
3 November 2003
Procedural Posture
Contract Breach Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment
Outcome
Appeal allowed in part and dismissed in part: trial judge's finding that purchaser breached by refusing to accept excess volume affirmed; award for damages related to failure to meet specifications set aside and remitted to trial court; other damages and small general damages upheld; costs submissions reserved.
Legal Topics
Interpretation of Contract, Incorporation by Reference, Contra Proferentem, Specification of Goods, Remittal to Trial Court
Source Language
english
Contract Law Commercial Law Damages Evidence Interpretation of Contract Incorporation by Reference Contra Proferentem Specification of Goods +1 more

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Parties

Pass Creek Enterprises Ltd.

Respondent/plaintiff

Kootenay Custom Log Sort Ltd.

Appellant/defendant

Procedural Posture

Contract Breach Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether 'estimated volume' obliged purchaser to accept more than 4,000 m³
  2. 2 Whether purchaser's specification cards were incorporated into the written log purchase agreement
  3. 3 Application of contra proferentem to ambiguous contract terms

Ratio Decidendi

The court upheld the trial judge's finding that the term 'estimated volume' and the parties' course of dealings required Kootenay to accept logs beyond 4,000 m³ (trial judge correctly applied contra proferentem against Kootenay as drafter); however specification cards were incorporated only to the extent they were not inconsistent with express contract terms, so the trial judge erred in entirely excluding the purchaser's specification cards and therefore damages for rejection on specifications must be set aside and remitted to trial court for determination.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed in part and dismissed in part: trial judge's finding that purchaser breached by refusing to accept excess volume affirmed; award for damages related to failure to meet specifications set aside and remitted to trial court; other damages and small general damages upheld; costs submissions reserved.

Orders

  • Paragraph 1 of the order appealed (relating to failure to meet specifications) set aside and remitted to trial court for determination
  • Paragraph 4 of the order set aside to the extent it includes GST on amounts in paragraph 1