Williams Grain Company, Inc., a Corporation v. Leval & Company, Inc. (Now Louis Dreyfus Corporation), and Bunge Corporation

VOGEL, Circuit Judge.

Leval & Co., Inc. (now Louis Dreyfus Corporation), and Bunge Corporation commenced separate suits against Williams Grain Co., Inc., to recover damages on account of the defendant’s alleged breach of several contracts to sell and deliver soybeans to plaintiffs. Diversity of citizenship and the amount involved in each suit made for federal court jurisdiction. Defendant conceded the existence of the contracts and its non-compliance with them but sought to avoid its failure to perform on the grounds of impossibility and business frustration. The cases were consolidated for…