The plaintiff is a chicken grower that owned poultry barns and provided janitorial services with respect to raising chicks that the defendant supplied. The plaintiff typically had chicks for five to six weeks when the defendant would then pick up the chickens and pay the plaintiff for the services provided. The plaintiff would then prepare the facility for the next batch of chickens to be delivered. The defendant retained the power under the contract to determine how many chickens to be delivered and could terminate the relationship with the plaintiff at any time for any reason on 90-days written notice. In 2011, the defendant required its growers to upgrade their facilities to meet certain, heat, ventilation and other standards. Consequently, the defendant sent the plaintiff two written notices describing the upgrade requirement and asking the plaintiff to reply concerning its intent. However, the plaintiff never responded, claiming that it never received the notices. No further chickens were delivered and the plaintiff's growing contract was placed on its "inactive" list. The plaintiff sued for breach of contract and the defendant moved for summary judgment. The trial court denied the motion. At trial, the defendant moved for directed verdict which was denied. The defendant renewed the motion at the close of all evidence, which was denied. The jury ruled for the plaintiff finding that the defendant breached the contract for non-performance, that the plaintiff did not breach via repudiation, and that the plaintiff was entitled to $42,235.96 in damages. The defendant motioned for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which was denied. The defendant appealed. On appeal, the court affirmed. The court noted that the contract stated that the defendant "agrees to deliver the FLOCKS (number and breed of which are to be determined by [defendant] in its sole discretion) to [plaintiff]." As such, the court determined that it was not optional for the defendant to not deliver any chicks. The court also reasoned that if the defendant had the right to not deliver any birds, that right would render other contract language meaningless - such as the language the gave the defendant the right to terminate the contract for with or without cause on 90 days notice. The court also determined that the plaintiff did not breach the contract by repudiation (other growers also testified as to not receiving letters about the required upgrades) and that the defendant never gave 90-days notice to terminate. The damage award was also upheld on the basis that the plaintiff was a top grower, could reasonable anticipate profits on chicks delivered to it and the jury award was based on the plaintiff's past performance. Brock v. Johnson Breeders, Inc., No. COA14-914, 2015 N.C. App. LEXIS 549 (N.C. Ct. App. Jul. 7, 2015).