A former business law student, who did not attend all the classes or do all the readings, was the eldest son of Ma and Pa farmers. This farm had the distinction of being the largest cacti growers East of the Mississippi. The farm was located in Maryland. The farm had been in the family since around 1848. He realized that times had changed and there was a limited market for cacti. Something had to be done.
This young man decided to get into the landscaping business. He also decided to pursue a federal contract to provide tulips to the National Park Service to be planted at the various monuments throughout Washington, DC. The National Park Service was extremely precise in what it wanted per the terms of the contract. NPS wanted a specific type of red tulip, nine inches tall to be planted by April 1 of this particular year.
The former student ordered the specific red tulip from a wholesaler in St. Louis, Missouri. The order was placed by Western Union telegram. When the order was received, the wholesaler realized he could not supply the ordered red tulips but could provide the requested quantity in orange tulips. A telegram was sent back to the former student indicating this. When the telegram was received the former student through it on the stack of unopened mail.
The wholesaler shipped the tulips via truck which arrived on or about March 1 as provided for in the contract. The tulips were 6 inches tall. They had been treated to a growth retardent which was standard in the industry. The former student did not know this. He planted the tulips at the various monuments. The NPS immediately complained that the tulips were only 6 inches tall. The former student explained that they should not worry they would grow to 9 inches by April 1st. When they did not he called the wholesaler who explained that the tulips needed to be treated with another chemical to allow them to grow. Around May 1 the tulips blossomed to beautiful orange tulips. The NPS was not pleased and advised that the former student had breached the contract.
What should the student have done? What did the National Park Service do? What were their options? What remedies did they have? What do you think happened in this case? Look up the Uniform Commercial Code, if you can to see if tha makes a difference.