054345P.pdf   02/20/2007  Matrix Group Limited  v.  Rawlings Sporting
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  05-4345
                          and No:  06-1033
   U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis   
   [PUBLISHED] [Murphy, Author, with Arnold and Benton, Circuit Judges]
   Civil case - contracts. The parties' contract included a thirty-day
   cure period for any breach, and Rawlings violated the contract by
   failing to give Matrix notice and an opportunity to cure before it
   terminated the agreement; alleged breach of the contract's best efforts
   provisions was not a defense to Matrix's breach of contract action;
   Rawlings was entitled to argue that Matrix's insolvency gave it the
   right to immediately terminate the contract, but Matrix was not
   equitably insolvent, and Matrix's balance sheet insolvency did not
   permit immediate termination; jury was entitled to find from the
   evidence that K2 used improper means of influence to interfere with
   the contract between Rawlings and Matrix; damage award against K2
   affirmed; there was no error in the jury instructions covering
   tortious interference with contract; K2 and Rawlings failed to show
   the verdict and award of lost profits was against the weight of the
   evidence; district court erred in eliminating the jury award for
   terminal value of the contract, as the methodology Matrix's expert
   used to calculate the value was an accepted method of determining
   the value and was not the product of speculation; district court did
   not err in refusing to submit the issue of punitive damages issue to
   the jury, as Florida law would not have authorized an award under the
   facts of this case; district court did not err in dismissing claim
   under Florida's deceptive practices statute as there were no
   allegations that Rawlings acted deceptively, negotiated in bad faith
   or wanted to ruin Matrix totally.