Project Zero Dawn (“PZD”) is a Norwegian company focusing on environmental activism and preservation of animal and plant

[answerhappygod]

Project Zero Dawn (“PZD”) is a Norwegian company focusing on
environmental activism and preservation of animal and plant species
around the world. One of their largest projects was the
construction of a gene bank, a global seed vault containing plant
seeds and animal DNA samples. In case of plant extinction, or
global apocalyptic events, the samples can be used to restore
entire species to life. The gene bank is located well-within the
Arctic Circle. In the late 2018, the board of directors of PZD
approved two new initiatives. Firstly, PZD would go on to obtain
samples of extraordinarily rare and exotic plants, previously
thought too expensive to obtain. Secondly, PZD would obtain
genetically engineered plants, capable of being stored for vast
periods of time. The employees of PZD therefore traveled to a
Global Plant Summit, an international trade fair where large
numbers of plants are being regularly sold. They met with two
companies there: United Plant Sellers (“UPS”), a French company,
and Worldwide Gene Initiative (“WGS”), a company incorporated in
the US. In their conversation with UPS, PZD mentioned that they are
looking to procure rare carnivorous plants. UPS showed them a
catalogue of such exotic plants, containing pictures and a Latin
name of the plants in question. The PZD employee consulted with her
boss and ticked off several boxes in the catalogue. They paid for
the purchase with their card and signed no contract. The PZD
employee only said “please make sure to deliver them before
September 2021”, and the UPS employee nodded. Approaching the WGS
stand, the PZD employees decided to purchase gene-modified seeds,
the exact product that WGS specializes in. The process of gene
editing is costly and timeconsuming: the seeds need to be harvested
by WGS, DNA sequenced, and subtle changes introduced via the use of
the latest gene editing tools. This is why the seeds offered by WGS
are extraordinarily expensive. PZD placed an order for two tons of
seeds edited to last 2000 years. In August 2021, PZD received their
shipments from both UPS and WGS. When they opened the shipment from
UPS, much to their surprise, instead of seeds, they found the
actual carnivorous plants. Given that the plants were not able to
withstand the extreme cold, they quickly perished. PZD was
astounded, as for hundreds of years in the plant industry, it is
customary to ship seeds, not actual plants. However, when they
reached to UPS, their sales representative simply said “you could
have harvested the seeds from the plants yourself after a few
months, it is not our fault that the Arctic is cold”. Given that
they were busy dealing with their issues with UPS, PZD only opened
the WGS shipment one month later, after they placed it in the room
with all the other plant seeds they have stored. However, it turned
out that the WGS seeds were infected with a very rare, airborne
parasite, which damaged all the other plants in the room. This
parasite only appears in wet areas, and the WGS production facility
was indeed subject to an extreme, unexpected river flood six months
ago. They checked a few of their shipments for damage, but not the
one sent to PZD. 1. Assume that CISG applies to the contract
between PZD and USP (no need to prove it). Did USP deliver the
goods conforming with the contract? 2. Does CISG apply to the
contract between PZD and WSG? Why? 3. Without prejudice to the
previous question, assume that CISG does apply. Which costs, if
any, would PZD be able to recover from WSG? Why?