Soderhamn MacHine Manufacturing Company, a Corporation v. The Martin Bros. Container & Timber Products Corp., a Corporation

Soderhamn Machine Manufacturing Company (“Soderhamn”) brought this action against The Martin Bros. Timber & Container Corp. (“Martin”) for the unpaid balance on a contract by which Soderhamn agreed to install a log debarking and chipper system at Martin’s plywood plant and sawmill in Oakland, Oregon. Martin counterclaimed for damages allegedly incurred by reason of Soderhamn’s defective performance of the contract. Following a prolonged trial, the District Court entered judgment for Martin in the amount of $120,716.25, the amount of damages found to have been caused by Soder-hamn’s defective performance less the unpaid balance due on the contract. Soderhamn appeals, contesting the sufficiency of the evidence to support the judgment on the counterclaim. Federal jurisdiction was founded on diversity.

The system which Soderhamn agreed to install consisted of machinery designed to remove bark from logs before they are sawed, to saw logs to be made into plywood, and to chip and remove the resulting debris. Here is the layout : A large conveyor brings logs out of the mill pond and onto a deck where the logs are to be debarked by a Soderhamn debarker. A “kicker” system is used to…