Opinion ID: 380487
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the expiration of the contract.

Text: 12 The Board claims the district court improperly found for MBM under the contract because, it argues, the express terms of the contract state that it normally expired on August 31 of each year unless renewed by the Board and the Board failed to renew on August 31, 1975. Therefore, the Board concludes, there was no contract on which to find liability after that date. We do not believe this contention merits much discussion for it is clear from the record, as the Board itself candidly admits in its brief, there (was) a series of five . . . extensions agreed to by the parties. 4 For the Board to request and be granted these extensions of the renewal-opting period, allow MBM to continue its performance for almost ten months after the Board claims the contract had expired, and continue to pay MBM its bills during that period, 5 minus the 20% agreed to by the parties, renders unpersuasive its present contention that there was no contract between the parties. 13 The Board's argument that what was agreed to was an extension of the time in which the Board could exercise its option as opposed to an extension of the agreement itself is equally unpersuasive. The Board's logic would seem to be that during the extensions, MBM was bound to perform until the project was completed but the Board was under no obligation to pay for those services. Such a position is untenable when the record is clear that both parties treated the contract as a whole as continuing throughout the extension periods. We hold, therefore, that the district court correctly determined that the contract remained in force by agreement of the parties until June 31, 1976, and thus, correctly based its decision on the contract. Because of the result we reach we need not address the correctness of the district court's finding that even if the contract is deemed to have expired on August 31, 1975, the same amount was due under a theory of quantum meruit. MBM in its cross-appeal asserted that if this court should hold that the district court erred in granting MBM judgment on the contract, judgment on a quantum meruit theory, being also appropriate, would have resulted in a larger judgment than that entered on the contract. Because we have not reached the issue of quantum meruit, it is not necessary to decide the issue presented on the cross-appeal which was apparently urged only as an alternative protective measure. 14