Reference no: EM13944454

Lindenwood Marine, Inc. was awarded a contract by the federal government to build flood control dams along the Missouri River. In April 2010, Lindenwood entered into a contract with Noell Engineering, a Missouri engineering company, to construct special turbines to be used in the dam construction. Noell holds itself out to be an expert in water technology and engineering and has supplied turbine for flood control dams throughout the world. Under their contract, Noell was to design, build and supply the turbines for Lindenwood, with a final delivery and installation date of September 2011. Noell supplied the engineering drawings to Lindenwood Marine in August 2010 and promised delivery and installation by the agreed contract date. Under the contract, Noell warranted that the turbines were capable of continuous operation, a feature that was important for the flood control function of the dams. In January 2011, Lindenwood Marine learned through industry publications that certain dams along the Nile River in Egypt and the Danube River in Hungary experienced serious problems with their turbines that that been designed, built and supplied by Noell. In particular, there were reports that the turbines were not able to operate in a continuous manner as was required under Lindenwood's contract with Noell. On January 8, 2011 Lindenwood e-mailed Noell expressing its concern about the turbine failures in Egypt and Hungary and asked Noell for proof that the turbines would meet the specifications for continuous operation as required under the agreement. On February 1, 2011 Noell e-mailed Lindenwood that the turbines would satisfactorily do the job. Lindenwood was not satisfied with Noell's explanation, and in April 2011, Lindenwood told Noell it was cancelling the contract and was purchasing the turbines from one of Noell's competitors. Noell then sued Lindenwood for breach of contract and sought damages. Noell claims that it has incurred substantial expenses in providing the engineering and design for the turbines, purchased materials, and had begun construction of the turbines. Lindenwood says that it was Noell that breached the contract. Discuss the strength of each party's claim for breach of contract, and specifically address in your answer how the legal concepts of performance affect each party's claim.