Fort Worth Partners, LLC v. Nilfisk, Inc.

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedOctober 17, 2025
Docket24-3224
StatusPublished

This text of Fort Worth Partners, LLC v. Nilfisk, Inc. (Fort Worth Partners, LLC v. Nilfisk, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fort Worth Partners, LLC v. Nilfisk, Inc., (8th Cir. 2025).

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 24-3224 ___________________________

Fort Worth Partners, LLC

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Nilfisk, Inc.; Nilfisk Holding A/S, a Danish Corporation

Defendants - Appellants ___________________________

No. 24-3281 ___________________________

Plaintiff - Appellant

Defendants - Appellees ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Fayetteville ____________

Submitted: September 17, 2025 Filed: October 17, 2025 ____________ Before LOKEN, KELLY, and ERICKSON, Circuit Judges. ____________

ERICKSON, Circuit Judge.

Fort Worth Partners, LLC sued Nilfisk, Inc. and its parent company Nilfisk Holding A/S for breach of contract relating to Nilfisk’s insurance obligations under the parties’ lease agreement. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The district court denied Nilfisk’s motion, granted Fort Worth Partners’ motion in part, and held a bench trial on damages. Nilfisk appeals the district court’s denial of its motion for summary judgment and the damages award. Fort Worth Partners cross-appeals the district court’s damages award. We affirm, with the exception of the damages award pertaining to unrebutted costs, which we reverse and remand to the district court to make factual findings supporting its award.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Building and its Destruction

Nilfisk leased a warehouse-style building located in Springdale, Arkansas, from Fort Worth Partners under the terms of an Industrial Building Lease (the “Lease”). The warehouse was a 200,000 square foot building comprised of two connected 100,000 square foot structures—an East Building and a West Building joined by abutting gable walls (together, the “Building”). In total, the Building stretched 1,000 feet east-to-west and 200 feet north-to-south. The Building was constructed of pre-engineered steel framing, with moment frames running north-to- south and cable cross bracing running east-to-west. Each moment frame attached to the foundation’s perimeter with steel plates and threaded anchor bolts at twenty-five- foot increments.

The Building’s foundation consisted of a perimeter wall set into the ground and a concrete slab floor. Concrete pedestals extended from the foundation’s

-2- underlying spread footings to support load-bearing interior columns. In the West Building, the moment frames were supported by three I-beam columns attached to the foundation’s footing pedestals by steel plates and anchor bolts. In the East Building, the moment frames were supported by hollow steel beams set into the foundation itself.

On March 30, 2022, a tornado destroyed the Building. All 100,000 square feet of the West Building and approximately 40,000 square feet of the East Building collapsed. The wall panels and roof of the remaining portion of the East Building were damaged beyond repair, but the interior moment framing and roof supports remained largely undamaged. The East Building’s foundation also suffered damage, including sheared base plates and anchor bolts, a cracked floor slab, and spalled concrete along the foundation’s perimeter.1 Given the extent of the damage, Nilfisk vacated the building on August 1, 2022, prior to the expiration of the Lease.

B. Nilfisk’s Property Insurance Obligation and Coverage

Under the terms of the Lease, Nilfisk was responsible for all property-related expenses, including taxes, insurance, maintenance, and repairs. Section 10.2 of the Lease required Nilfisk to maintain property insurance covering the full replacement cost of the Building in the event of physical loss or damage:

10.2. Coverage Amounts. Tenant shall purchase and maintain, throughout the Term, a Tenant’s Policy(ies) of (i) “all-risk” commercial property insurance covering the improvements constructed, installed or located on the Premises (but excluding Tenant’s Property) against all loss or damage caused by fire, ice, hurricane, windstorm and such other risks of physical loss or damage as are covered by a causes of loss special form insurance policy, which coverage shall, at all times, be in an amount equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the then “full replacement cost” of the Premises subject to a deductible not to exceed

1 Spalling occurs when flakes, chips, or chunks of concrete have broken off a larger concrete base. -3- One Hundred Thousand and No/100 Dollars ($100,000.00) (“Full Replacement Cost” shall be interpreted to mean the cost of replacing the Premises without deduction for depreciation or wear and tear, less the cost of footings, foundations and other structures below grade).

The Lease also provided Fort Worth Partners with a remedy if Nilfisk failed to obtain adequate property insurance:

10.1. Tenant’s Policies. . . . In the event that Tenant fails, at any time or from time to time, to comply with the requirements of the preceding sentence, Landlord may after not less than five (5) days prior written notice: order such insurance and charge the cost thereof to Tenant, which amount shall be payable by Tenant to Landlord upon demand, as Additional Rent.

Alternatively, Fort Worth Partners could terminate Nilfisk’s tenancy and recover “any . . . amount necessary to compensate . . . for all the detriment directly caused by [Nilfisk’s] failure to perform its obligations.”

Neither Fort Worth Partners nor Nilfisk attempted to determine the full replacement cost of the Building, though the Building’s appraised value ranged between $10.5 and $11.1 million. Nilfisk’s insurance coverage varied from year to year, but Nilfisk never carried more than $10 million in full replacement cost coverage. At the time the tornado destroyed the Building, Nilfisk carried only $5,149,999.00 in full replacement cost property insurance.

Fort Worth Partners received certificates of insurance from Nilfisk each year showing the amount of coverage Nilfisk carried but never expressed concern about Nilfisk’s coverage. Fort Worth Partners was aware of its right under Section 10.2 of the Lease to purchase additional full replacement cost coverage and charge the cost of the insurance to Nilfisk but did not exercise that right.

-4- C. Proceedings Below

Fort Worth Partners sued Nilfisk for breach of contract, seeking to recover the full replacement cost of the Building it would have received had Nilfisk been adequately insured. During discovery, both parties retained expert witnesses to estimate the full replacement cost of the Building. Fort Worth Partners’ expert, Kevin McMahon, estimated the replacement cost at $27,722,974.03. Nilfisk’s expert, Jeff Marcussen, estimated the replacement cost at $14,253,579.00. Nilfisk’s insurer also retained an appraiser who estimated the replacement cost at $9,428,939.87.

Fort Worth Partners argued Nilfisk breached the Lease as a matter of law by failing to carry adequate insurance coverage. Nilfisk asserted Fort Worth Partners’ claim: (1) was barred by the statute of limitations and Arkansas’ doctrine of avoidable consequences; (2) was premised on an unenforceable agreement to agree; and (3) sought excessive damages.

The district court granted Fort Worth Partners’ motion in part. The court found that even under the lowest contested replacement cost submitted by Nilfisk’s insurer, Nilfisk’s coverage still fell below the requirements of Section 10.2. The district court concluded Nilfisk had breached its insurance obligation and was liable to Fort Worth Partners for damages arising out of the breach.

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Bluebook (online)
Fort Worth Partners, LLC v. Nilfisk, Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fort-worth-partners-llc-v-nilfisk-inc-ca8-2025.