Willaim Brokaw Price, et al. v. Carri Scharf Trucking, Inc., et al.

Peoria, Illinois lawyers represented the parties in a breach of contract dispute.<br>
<br>
In 1997, plaintiff William Brokaw Price's parents and defendant Carri Scharf Trucking, Inc. (CST) agreed to a contract for surface-level mining of sand gravel, and topsoil on the Prices' property.1 When CST's mining activity dwindled in the mid-2000s, Brokaw's father Bill Price sent a letter instructing CST not to push accumulated stockpiles of sand into a lake that had formed on the property. As the end of the contract neared in 2010, Bill Price wrote CST about possible future plans for the property but passed away shortly thereafter.<br>
<br>
Several years later, Brokaw realized that the property still bore the marks of CST's mining activity. This discovery set off an extended back-and-forth where Brokaw repeatedly demanded CST perform its contractual duty to reclaim the prop-<br>
erty, CST eventually yielded, and Brokaw then insisted that CST's reclamation activity trespassed on land that was never<br>
subject to the contract. After discussions broke down completely, Brokaw (along with his wife Sharon Price and their<br>
LLC) sued CST for breach of contract. CST responded with a breach counterclaim based on the Prices' trespass accusations.<br>
<br>
The Prices' breach of contract claim proceeded to a jury; CST's counterclaim did not. The first trial in the case was a<br>
mistrial. The second ended in a verdict for CST. Afterward, the district court denied the Prices' motion for judgment as a matter of law. It also rejected CST's request for attorney's fees pursuant to a fee-shifting provision in the contract. The Prices now appeal on the merits, while CST cross-appeals on attorney's fees.

Affirmed