Acceptance. In April 1996, Excalibur Oil Group, Inc, applied for credit and opened an account with Standard Distributors, Inc, to obtain snack foods and other items for Excalibur's convenience stores. For three months, Standard delivered the goods and

Excalibur paid the invoices. In July, Standard was dissolved and its assets were distributed to J. F. Walker Co Walker continued to deliver the goods to Excalibur, which continued to pay the invoices until November, when the firm began to experience financial difficulties. By January 1997, Excalibur owed Walker $54,241.77. Walker then dealt with Excalibur soley on a collect-on-delivery basis until Excalibur's stores closed in 1998. Walker filed a suit in a Pennsylvania state court against Excalibur and its owner to recover amounts due on the unpaid invoices. To successfully plead its case, Walker had to show that there was a contract between the parties. One question was whether Excalibur had manifested acceptance of the goods delivered by Walker. How does a buyer manifest acceptance? Was there an acceptance in this case? In whose favor should the court rule, and why?

Acceptance
Acceptance occurs if, after a reasonable opportunity to inspect goods, a buyer signifies agreement that the goods are conforming, or otherwise acceptable, or fails to reject the goods, or if the buyer performs any act inconsistent with the seller's ownership, such as reselling the goods. In this case, Excalibur apparently manifested acceptance by paying Walker's invoices and reselling the goods. Despite these facts, the court ruled in favor of the defendants, and Walker appealed to a state intermediate appellate court, which vacated this judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings. Discussing the elements of a contract and its breach, the appellate court stated, "[I]n addition to the evidence of a written credit application and agreement between Standard Distributors and buyer, seller presented its invoices for goods buyer accepted following Standard Distributor's dissolution. . . . [B]uyer received invoices and goods from seller with seller's name on the invoices, and . . . buyer continued to accept and pay for seller's goods, in whole or in part. Seller also introduced into evidence statements showing amounts due and owing for goods delivered to two of buyer's convenience stores in the amounts of $25,184.74 and $29,057.03, and [Buyer] admitted . . . [it] had not made those payments. . . . [Buyer] never indicated that the goods had not been delivered or were unsatisfactory, or that buyer did not owe the amounts reflected on the invoices and statements."