Westinghouse sold uranium in long-term contracts at fixed prices, betting that market prices would be stable or fall (as they had been). But this was a bad bet: Uranium prices skyrocketed as a result of a cartel. Faced with large losses if it had to fulfill its contracts, Westinghouse argued that the unanticipated spike in uranium prices made its performance impossible. Should Westinghouse be freed of its contractual duties to sell uranium at a loss?