Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia

Is this a breach of contract of failure to perfom as contracted?

Blinds from Hunter Douglas were contracted for and instead Blinds from Kathy Irelands HOME collection were installed. HD considers Kathy Ireland products to be competitors and does not warranty or guarantee those products. The order we signed said ''Hunter Douglas 3/8 inch Honeycomb Shades-Kathy Ireland-Essance White Frosting w/Top Down Bottom Up.'' The installer insists the product is an HD product at a substancially reduced cost, but HD insists the product has nothing to do with them. Has a breach of contract been commited when we contracted for Hunter Douglas Blinds and received blinds from an HD subsidiary that HD considers a competitor? Is the installer liable to produce the HD product we requested?

Thank you


Asked on 3/27/06, 11:47 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathon Moseley Jonathon A. Moseley

Re: Is this a breach of contract of failure to perfom as contracted?

There is no doubt that this is a breach of the contract. However, the real question then becomes whether or not you can recover any damages from the breach. It may be very difficult to put a number on the difference between these two types of blinds. Furthermore, if you paid less for the other kind of blinds, the lower cost would factor into any analysis of whether you had actually lost any money or not.

If one type of blinds had a warranty and the other did not, then you would be 'damaged' by not having a warranty. That's clear. However, I am not sure how to put a number on the lack of a warranty, because it is uncertain whether or not anything will go wrong with the blinds and whether the warranty would ever be needed or used.

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Answered on 3/27/06, 1:12 pm


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