An independent trucker and a manufacturer contract for the delivery of a farming implement. The trucker picked up the implement but drove 100 miles out of the way to pick up another item before delivering to the farmer. The manufacturer, unaware of the detour, refuses to pay. Who has breached the contract?

• A. Neither the trucker nor the manufacturer.
• B. The trucker breached by not delivering directly to the farmer.
• C. The manufacturer breached by failing to pay.
• D. Both parties breached.

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that performance under a delivery contract is satisfied when the goods are delivered to the intended destination, and a deviation is allowed if it doesn’t violate any express term or defeat the contract’s purpose. Here, the trucker did deliver the farming implement to the farmer, even though he took a detour to pick up another item. There’s no stated restriction in the scenario on routing or timely delivery, so the detour doesn’t automatically amount to a breach. Because the trucker completed the delivery, the manufacturer owes payment for that performance. The manufacturer’s refusal to pay would only be a breach if the trucker failed to perform, which did not happen. Therefore, neither party breached the contract, absent any explicit terms restricting route or timing.