Werner v. Xerox Corp.

732 F.2d 580 (7th Cir. 1984)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Werner (P) submitted proposals to Xerox (D) to manufacture a special machine to produce metal rollers for copying machines. Wolf, D's employee, told P that P would become a major supplier of rollers to D. P formed a corporation, rented space, and incurred other expenses to enable him to supply the parts. Wolf approved the facilities, but Wolf's supervisor subsequently informed P that D would not purchase rollers from him. Wolf reassured P that his manager did not know what he was talking about. Wolf continued to assure P that he would produce rollers. D purchased three machines from P and did no further business with P. P sued for breach of contract, promissory estoppel, and fraud. The court awarded a judgment of $19,000 to P for promissory estoppel up to the point in time that Wolf's manager informed P that D would not purchase rollers. Both parties appealed.