Werner v. Xerox Corp

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

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

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.