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NIPSCO v. Carbon County
From wikilawschool.net. Wiki Law School does not provide legal advice. For educational purposes only.
| NIPSCO v. Carbon County | |
| Court | 7th Circuit |
|---|---|
| Citation | 799 F.2d 265 |
| Date decided | August 13, 1986 |
Facts
- Northern Indiana Public Service Co. = "NIPSCO" = plaintiff = coal buyer = electric utility company
- Carbon County Coal Co. (Carbon County) = coal mine company = company with a Wyoming coal mine on federal land = coal seller
- In 1978, the 2 parties contracted for NIPSCO to receive 1,500,000 (1.5 million) tons of coal/year for 20 years.
- The 2 parties agreed on $24/ton of coal subject to change.
- The contract included a force majeure clause.
- Coal prices went up:
year 1978
$24/ton of coal
$44/ton of coal
year 1985
- NIPSCO found a cheaper source of electricity; so, NIPSCO suspended the coal shipments from Carbon County.
Procedural History
- NIPSCO sued Carbon County in federal court in Indiana seeking a declaratory judgment that NIPSCO was excused from buying coal from Carbon County under the force majeure clause.
- NIPSCO lost.
- The jury awarded Carbon County $181,000,000 (181 million).
Issues
- Does monetary loss resulting from economic risk-taking
- constitute a force majeure or
- satisfy the doctrines of
- frustration of purpose or
- impossibility?
- Does the doctrine of illegality automatically void a contract?
