General Mills Operations, LLC v. Five Star Custom Foods, Ltd., No. 12-1731 (8th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseGeneral Mills sued Five Star for breach of contract and breach of warranties after the meatballs General Mills purchased from Five Star contained beef that was recalled. The district court granted summary judgment to General Mills on the breach-of-contract claim and to Five Star on the breach-of-warranty claims. The parties cross-appealed. The court concluded that the press release that General Mills relied upon to recall the meatballs constituted hearsay. However, the press release set out findings from an investigation pursuant to authority granted by law and was therefore admissible. The court also concluded that sufficient admissible evidence supported the conclusion that the meat was procured in violation of regulations and that it was adulterated. Therefore, the district court properly granted summary judgment to General Mills on the breach-of-contract claim. The court further concluded that the district court properly analyzed the breach-of-contract and breach-of-warranties claims separately. The court dismissed General Mills' cross-appeal as moot and affirmed the award of attorneys fees to General Mills.
Court Description: Civil case - contracts. In suit alleging defendant breached the parties' contract and its warranties by selling plaintiff tainted meatballs, the district court did not err in finding sufficient admissible evidence established that the beef used in the producing the meatballs was procured in violation of USDA regulations and was, therefore, deemed adulterated; as a result, the district court did not err in finding defendant had breached the contract and owed plaintiff damages related to the recall of the meat; having found that defendant breached the contract, this court need not address whether defendant also breached warranties, and plaintiff's cross-appeal challenging the district court's ruling in favor of defendant on this issue is dismissed as moot; no error in awarding plaintiff stipulated attorneys' fees.
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