DC Farms, LLC v. Conagra Foods Lamb Weston, Inc., No. 30963-1-III, 2014 Wash. App. LEXIS 248 (Wash. Ct. App. Jan. 30, 2014)

(a potato grower and a potato processing company entered into a joint venture under which the grower agreed to supply the company with potatoes for use in manufacturing frozen potato products; the agreement granted the company shared control over the grower’s operation, and the grower was entitled to share in the profits; after harvest and before transport, a broken light bulb was discovered in one of the grower’s potato cellars, and a number of potatoes from that cellar were destroyed; but a worker on the company’s potato processing line found a broken light bulb encased in a Tuff-Skin sack; the company conducted an investigation, alleged that the bulbs were intentionally broken by an employee of the grower who was throwing potatoes, and terminated the parties’ agreement, refusing to process any more of the grower’s potatoes; the company did not provide formal notice of nonrenewal , as required under the contract, and the grower filed a breach of contract action; the trial court entered summary judgment for the company, but, on appeal, the court reversed, finding that the grower was entitled to a finding that the company breached the notice-and-cure provision of the contract; a genuine issue of material fact existed, however, as to whether the asserted glass contamination breach was incurable, thereby excusing the company from providing to the grower notice and an opportunity to cure).