This case takes place in Maine and involves a telecommunications and radar company that failed to provide the necessary information to meet developmental deadlines to an outside vendor. The plaintiff in this case provides various billing services and support to telecommunications companies. The defendant provides a range of telecommunication and telephone services, utilizing soft switch technology to connect clients across the airwaves. The defendant issued a request for proposal seeking a vendor to provide a new billing system. The plaintiff responded to the request, and the defendant company selected the plaintiff to provide services. During the elaboration phase, industry practice requires the customer and the provider to work collaboratively to identify the customer’s precise business requirements and ensure that the final products meet those requirements. Without this collaboration, it is impossible for a service provider such as the plaintiff to understand the customer’s requirement’s for the new system, and to configure and program the software accordingly.
It is alleged that from the onset of the developmental process, the defendant ignored the plaintiff’s requests for detailed information on the defendant’s international business requirements, and did not allocate the time and personnel necessary for the development of the new systems. As time progressed, the defendant fell severely behind in meeting its agreed deadlines and providing the plaintiffs the information necessary for it to meet its developmental deadlines. As a result of the delays caused by the defendant’s refusal to engage in the elaboration and development processes, the plaintiffs argued that they did not breach their original contract.
