Small business wins contract dispute

CHICAGO, Ill. — A family-owned shop has won a $186,000 judgment against a supplier that raised its prices mid-contract and cut off deliveries when the shop refused to pay.

The supplier announced the increase by email in late summer. When the shop's owners pointed to the signed price, deliveries stopped, weeks before the shop's busiest season.

The shop stood to lose most of its holiday inventory. The case also tested whether a written contract price could be changed with a single email.

Orlesse Law showed the court that the contract required any change to be signed by both sides. The firm then calculated what the shop paid to buy replacement stock at short notice from other suppliers.

A state court judge entered judgment for the shop for $186,000 in damages.

The supplier can still appeal, and collecting a judgment can take time.

Business lawyers say changes to a contract usually have to follow the process the contract itself sets out, and a signed amendment clause can be decisive.