Quality Egg, LLC
v.
Hickman's Egg Ranch, Inc.
Appellant
Quality Egg, LLC
Appellee
Hickman's Egg Ranch, Inc.
Attorney for the Appellant
G.A. Cady III and Megan R. Rosenberg
Attorney for the Appellee
Robert Malloy and Justin L. Sullivan
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wright County, Christopher C. Foy, Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Heard by Vogel, C.J., Vaitheswaran, J., and Danilson, S.J. Opinion by Vogel, C.J. (9 pages)
In 2002, Quality Egg, LLC (Quality Egg), entered into an oral contract with Hickman’s Egg Ranch, Inc. (Hickman’s) to sell eggs. In April 2008, Quality Egg received a check from Hickman’s that it determined was “short pay.” In March 2014, Quality Egg brought suit against Hickman’s, asserting Hickman’s was due and owing upon an open account. Hickman’s responded by asserting various defenses. After a 2017 trial, the jury returned a verdict against Quality Egg’s claim, and Quality Egg appeals. OPINION HOLDS: We conclude the jury instructions were insufficient. Because Quality Egg pled and presented its case-in-chief seeking a judgment on an open account, the lack of instructions to the jury on this claim is reversible error. Therefore, we reverse and remand for a new trial limited to Quality Egg’s open-account claim.