The plaintiff contracted with the defendant to deliver liquid nitrogen to the defendant's oil refinery production facility located in Belle Chase, Louisiana. The defendant uses liquid nitrogen to ensure the safe operation of its plant. The contract was a "requirement" contract-deliveries were based on how much liquid nitrogen the defendant had in its tanks. As a result, the plaintiff typically made deliveries seven days a week, and sometimes several times a day.
The defendant claims that the plaintiff repeatedly failed to deliver the liquid nitrogen on time, thereby dropping the liquid nitrogen to dangerously low levels and compromising the safety of the plant and its personnel. The contract provided that if the plaintiff failed to deliver the liquid nitrogen as required the defendant's sole remedy would be to purchase the product from another supplier and charge the plaintiff for the additional expenses incurred. The defendant did not exercise this right because it claims it was unable to purchase nitrogen from other suppliers. However, on the only occasion the defendant actually tried to purchase nitrogen from another supplier, it was successful. The plaintiff sued the defendant for breach of contract, and the defendant counterclaimed. What are the rights and remedies of the parties? Explain.