Opinion ID: 692298
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Eric and Karen Link

Text: 37 The Links leased both a corn and a haylage unit from the Tri-State dealership in the summer of 1981, and a year later, they realized that their herd's milk production was declining. At the recommendation of a nutritionist, the Links began adding protein supplements to their feed early in 1983, and for the most part, they have continued to do so to the present day. When the milk production they had been expecting from unsupplemented feed did not materialize, the Links raised questions with their Harvestore dealer. They were told that the lack of production could be the result of their haylage chopping techniques, 17 the weather, stressed cows, or other farm management practices. The dealer never indicated that the problem may lie with the Harvestore silos themselves. Milk production increased once the Links began to supplement their feed, but they knew in 1983 that the need for supplements would eliminate the feed savings their Harvestore dealer had projected. 18 38 Perhaps as early as 1982 and at least by 1984 or 1985, the Links also were experiencing more problems with the health of their herd. Specifically, foot rot and lameness were commonplace, affecting the ability of some cows even to stand and to walk. Eric Link originally believed that these problems were weather-related or perhaps the result of an infestation by some organism. Harvestore representatives eventually told the Links, however, that haylage feed causes looser manure and a wetter environment for the cows and that some foot problems are to be expected. The Links were told not to get excited about this situation. Moreover, throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, some of the Links' cows experienced longer breeding cycles, but neither their artificial inseminator, nutritionist, or their various veterinarians linked this problem to the Harvestore feed. These consultants generally recommended that more high-energy grain be fed to the affected cows. 39 The Links also periodically noticed mold between the layers of feed in the haylage unit. They generally disregarded the mold, however, because they previously had been told by Harvestore representatives that the mold grew in the absence of oxygen and was harmless. Mold also would appear in the corn unit when the silo was nearly empty. Harvestore representatives told the Links that this mold too was harmless, but Eric Link was uncomfortable feeding moldy corn to his herd because he knew it affected the corn's nutritional value. As a result, he built a grate to catch the affected corn and would not feed it to his cows. 40 Over the years, the Links consulted approximately eight nutritionists and feed ration consultants in an attempt to raise their production levels. None of these consultants ever said anything derogatory about the Harvestore silos. In 1988, the Links installed a computer feeding system designed to formulate the proper feed ration for each cow. Throughout this time period, the Links were satisfied with the performance of the Harvestore silos and never blamed the silos for their many problems. 41 In concluding that the statute of limitations had run, the district court found that the Links' fraud claim had accrued at least by 1983 because it was at that point that the Links knew that the dealer's representations were false. The district court believed that despite this knowledge, the Links had failed to include the silos as a possible target of their investigation, as an ordinarily diligent farmer would. When the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the Links, however, we do not find it so one-sided as to allow but one reasonable conclusion. 42 The record compiled by the Links falls somewhere between the evidence adduced by the Horns, Timmermans, and Schwietermans on the one hand, and by the Dues on the other. It appears that the Links were more diligent than the former group in seeking out the cause of their various problems but less diligent than the Dues. For example, the Links did confront their Harvestore dealer when milk production did not meet projected levels, when mold appeared in the corn unit, and when an inordinate number of their cows experienced problems with their feet. Yet it does not appear that the Links were as persistent as the Dues in raising questions about the need for protein supplements to maintain acceptable production levels. When the Links did raise questions, however, their dealer always seemed to deflect attention from the silos. When the Links complained about their lack of production, for instance, the dealer explained, among other things, that they may be chopping their haylage incorrectly, and the Links then attempted to follow the dealer's recommendations in that regard. They were told not to get excited about the foot problems that developed in their herd because the Harvestore feed produced a wetter environment for the cows. Finally, although Eric Link was uncomfortable feeding moldy corn to his herd, Harvestore representatives told him that like the penicillin mold he had seen in the haylage, this mold too was harmless. It appears to us that the Links went to great lengths over the years to attempt to increase the production of their herd, and the dealer's comments when approached with these various problems tended to direct their attention away from the Harvestore silos. Although the issue is a close one, we do not think it possible to say as a matter of law that the Links should have discovered prior to November 1986 that they had been injured through the dealer's fraud. If the Links' assertions are believed, a reasonable jury could find that their cause of action accrued after that point. See Hill v. A.O. Smith Corp., 801 F.2d 217, 225 (6th Cir.1986) (question of when the plaintiffs should have discovered that the silos were the source of their problems is for the jury). We thus reverse and remand their claim for a trial.