Oglebay Norton Co. v. Armco, Inc

Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff Oglebay Norton Co. and Defendant Armco, Inc., entered into a long-term contract that required Defendant to pay for shipping via a primary and secondary pricing mechanism. After the parties were unable to agree on a shipping rate for the year 1986, Plaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action seeking to have the Court fix the shipping rate for the year.

Synopsis of Rule of Law. Since the parties intended to be bound to the contract, the trial court had the authority to set a shipping rate and require the parties to negotiate and mediate with each shipping season.

Facts. The parties entered into a contract in 1957, which provided that Plaintiff would have adequate shipping capacity available and Defendant would use that capacity for the transportation of iron ore on the Great Lakes. The primary pricing mechanism dictated that Defendant agrees to pay for all iron ore transported according to the “regular net contract rates for the season