Many aspects of relational contract law can be illuminated by examination of a well-known case from outside the realm of contract law: Boomer v. Atlantic Cement. The facts of Boomer are simple. Atlantic Cement built a large cement plant which produced some pollutants creating a nuisance for some neighboring residents and businesses. The victims sought an injunction to prevent the nuisance. However, the court took into account that the magnitude of damages to the victims was only about $183,000 while if the victims received an injunction, they could conceivably force the cement plant, valued at over $40 million, to shut down.

Shutting down the plant would entail a great social cost and this could be avoided by denying the injunction. Of course, it is highly unlikely that the plant would be closed down even if the injunction were granted. For, if the plant were to close, the victims would receive only a modest benefit: the clean air that removing the nuisance would provide. The clean air might well be worth more to Boomer and friends than the $183,000 price tag assigned it by the court. Nevertheless, the victims could almost certainly do much better if they bargained with Atlantic, selling it the right to continue in business with the same level of pollution. If the plant has no other uses and little scrap value, the victims could conceivably obtain something close to the $40 million that the plant was valued at. The magnitude of the payment would de end upon the bargaining skill and the amount of resources devoted to the bargaining by the two sides.