Whether or not it is difficult or Avalon had some troubles that they didn't intend or couldn't foresee is completely irrelevant in the legal sense. They stated they would have the chips within a certain time-frame and they are obligated to that time-frame regardless of what mishaps or unforeseen circumstances transpired. We do not owe them sympathy or a break. If Avalon doesn't want to own up to the risk associated with delivering product on time based upon a contract then they need to get out of the business.
Are you a lawyer? While I'm not trying to defend Avalon at all, from a
legal standpoint simply being
late with an order is not a big deal - unless you have a contract specifying exactly how much they're supposed to pay if they don't ship on time, it's unlikely you could win a lawsuit against a supplier simply for being late.
The reality is, people are late with orders all the time. Normally it isn't nearly as big of a deal. If normal chips are late by a few months, nothing major happens. Worst case a new product launch has to be pushed back, and major companies actually plan extra time for delays in designing product schedules.
In the bitcoin world, it's a huge deal. In the "real" world it's not a big deal and not a big deal legally either.
You do not need a contract which stipulates exactly how much has to be paid. I already addressed this in another thread. You can absolutely win a lawsuit for them being late, especially if you can prove that you lost profit because of it. This is called "compensatory damages". In addition, the time-sensitive nature of Bitcoin mining also makes this very prime for delivery contract obligations. People are late with orders but both parties usually agree to deal with those delivery issues in some manner. But when money is on the line there are often lawsuits which attempt to claim the profit losses due to the productivity loss.
But normal chips are not time-sensitive. Regardless of how certain companies have or have not dealt with late deliveries, the fact remains that if you contract to deliver a product by a certain time you ARE obligated to that time, and the other party may be awarded damages regardless of the amount of time past the deadline.
Some of you kids just pull all sorts of supplicative shit out of your asses. Avalon either owes everyone a refund or they owe them for lost profit, i.e., compensatory damages. But only you all can make that happen.