A & M PRODUCE CO. v. FMC Corp.

I concur for the following reasons:

Facts fly as “thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks of Vallombrosa,” in support of the trial court’s conclusion these contract clauses were oppressive, contrary to oral representations made to induce the purchase, and unreasonably favorable to the party with a superior bargaining position. No experienced farmer would spend $32,000 for equipment which could not process his tomatoes before they rot and no fair and honest merchant would sell such equipment with representations negated in its own sales contract.

A petition for a rehearing was denied September 24, 1982, and appellant’s petition for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied December 15, 1982. Richardson, J., was of the opinion that the petition should be granted.

*498 APPENDIX

*499

Defendant FMC Corporation (FMC) appeals from the judgment entered in favor of plaintiff A & M Produce Co. (A & M) in *478 the net sum of $255,000 plus $45,000 attorney’s fees. 1 Although this case has a rather humble origin arising from the simple business transaction in 1974 when FMC sold A & M an agricultural weight-sizing machine for $32,000, the issues now require our traversing the labyrinthine complexities of the Uniform Commercial Code, only partially illuminated by California precedent. Because of the nature of this case, we believe it helpful to state the facts before describing the issues and the manner in which they are resolved.

I

A & M, a farming company in the Imperial Valley, is solely owned by C. Alex Abatti who has been farming all of his life. In late 1973, after talking with two of his employees, Mario Vanoni and Bill Billingsley, he decided to grow tomatoes. Although they had grown produce before, they had never grown tomatoes or any other crop requiring a weight-sizer and were not familiar with weight-sizing equipment. At the suggestion of Billingsley, they first spoke with a salesman from Decco Equipment Company regarding the purchase of the…

Defendant FMC Corporation (FMC) appeals from the judgment entered in favor of plaintiff A & M Produce Co. (A & M) in the net sum of $255,000 plus $45,000 attorney's fees. [1] Although this case has a rather humble origin arising from the simple business transaction in 1974 when FMC sold A & M an agricultural weight-sizing machine for $32,000, the issues now require our traversing the labyrinthine complexities of the Uniform Commercial Code, only partially illuminated by California precedent. Because of the nature of this case, we believe it helpful to state the facts before describing the issues and the manner in which they are resolved.

A & M, a farming company in the Imperial Valley, is solely owned by C. Alex Abatti who has been farming all of his life. In late 1973, after talking with two of his employees, Mario Vanoni and Bill Billingsley, he decided to grow tomatoes. Although they had grown produce before, they had never grown tomatoes or any other crop requiring a weight-sizer and were not familiar with weight-sizing equipment. At the suggestion of Billingsley, they first spoke with a salesman from Decco Equipment Company regarding the purchase of the…