On:
Great Western Bank
I. PROBLEM STATEMENT:
The Great Western Bank of San Diego placed an order of 12 special purpose accounting machines with the Data Max Corporation of Cincinnati, OH. Great Western Bank and Data Max, both agreed to a firm-fixed price of $9,500 per unit and FOB the shipping point. The purchasing manager of the bank designated a particular carrier (yellow freight) and Data Max returned the signed acknowledgement without making any changes to the terms and conditions.
Great Western Bank paid the invoice in full on the order completion to avail 2% discount. The Bank did check the invoice but did not pay attention on the shipping details since they assumed that Data Max will ship machines through Yellow Freight. The order was shipped by a different shipping company than what Data Max designated.
The truck gets involved in an accident when it was passing through Illinois and all the machines were a total loss. Data Max told the bank that title was passed to the bank when the goods were loaded in the truck and the machines were sold to you F.O.B. Cincinnati. So, it is not Data Max’s responsibility to refund the money. Great Western Bank made a point that they designated a particular carrier, but the goods were shipped via a different carrier. Data Max replied by saying that, still the Bank paid the invoice to get discount.
Data Max advised the bank to contact the truck line and file a claim with them.
II. SUMMARY OF THE FACTS:
It is true to say that Data Max took a wrong step by not shipping through the designated carrier (Yellow Freight). Without asking Great Western Bank, Data Max shipped the machines by a different carrier which was cheaper. Great Western Bank never mentioned to Data Max to give them a discount, but still Data Max offered them 2% discount by shipping through a different carrier. Great Western Bank was also at fault because it did not check the invoice properly and