“Putrid, Green, Slimy Ribs” is Affirmative Defense for Buyer
Buyer agreed to purchase forty thousand pounds of pork back ribs from seller. When buyer’s agent signed for the ribs from seller’s agent, the rib containers were sealed but the buyer’s agent noted they were in apparent good order. After they were delivered and opened, the USDA inspector noted many “putrid, green, slimy ribs,” and condemned the entire shipment. The buyer, apparently less than enthused about eating forty thousand pounds of slimy green ribs, refused to pay, and the seller filed suit.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the burden of proof was on the buyer to prove nonconformity as an affirmative defense, rather than on the seller to prove conformity as part of the seller’s case-in-chief for breach of contract. The Court applied the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, but by analogy noted the result would be the same under UCC Article 2. Look for the case, Chicago Prime Packers, Inc. v. Northram Food Trading Co., here.