Midwest Grain Products, Inc. v. Envirofuels Marketing, Inc.

948 F. Supp. 976, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19504, 1996 WL 742697
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedDecember 3, 1996
DocketCiv. A. No. 95-2355
StatusPublished

This text of 948 F. Supp. 976 (Midwest Grain Products, Inc. v. Envirofuels Marketing, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Midwest Grain Products, Inc. v. Envirofuels Marketing, Inc., 948 F. Supp. 976, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19504, 1996 WL 742697 (D. Kan. 1996).

Opinion

ORDER

EARL E. O’CONNOR, District Judge.

On September 24, 1996, the above-captioned matter came for trial before the court on defendant’s counterclaim for quantum meruit relief. After carefully considering the arguments of counsel, the testimony at trial, the exhibits, and the briefing submitted by the parties, the court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a).

I. Findings of Font

1. Plaintiff Midwest Grain Products, Inc. (“Midwest”) is a Kansas corporation. Midwest is an integrated manufacturer in the business of converting grain into other ingredients, primarily industrial products. Among the products it produces is fuel grade alcohol, [978]*978commonly referred to as ethanol. Ethanol is blended with gasoline to create a cleaner burning fuel.

2. Defendant EnviroFuels Marketing, Inc. (“EnviroFuels”) is an Oklahoma corporation, with its principal place of business in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During the relevant period, from approximately 1991 until 1995, EnviroFuels engaged in the business of marketing, brokering, and selling ethanol. EnviroFuels does not itself produce ethanol, nor does it own any storage facilities.

3. The parties have stipulated that personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, and venue properly lie in this court.

A. The EnviroFuels/ARCO Contract

4. In the summer of 1991, EnviroFuels entered into a contract with ARCO Products Company (“ARCO”), a division of Atlantic Richfield Company, The contract provided that EnviroFuels was to supply approximately 21 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol to ARCO during the contract term. The contract term extended from August 15, 1991, through February 28, 1995, in four distinct “supply periods.”

5. Pursuant to the EnviroFuels/ARCO contract, the price ARCO was to pay for the ethanol was fixed at Opis plus a specified number of cents per gallon.

6. During the first supply period, Midwest sold ethanol to EnviroFuels at the EnviroFuels/ARCO contract price before freight, less 7.5%. These sales were on a “spot basis” and did not represent performance under a long term commitment.

7. In the spring of 1992, EnviroFuels and Midwest entered into negotiations to assign EnviroFuels’ supply contract with ARCO to Midwest. Under the proposed assignment, Midwest would pay EnviroFuels a commission of 1.5% of the EnviroFuels/ARCO contract price.

8. Ladd Seaberg, president of Midwest, testified that there was risk inherent in entering into a long-term ethanol supply contract. He testified that grain prices are the single largest cost item, comprising 45-65% of the cost. Seaberg further testified that an increase in grain prices increases the cost of production. However, because the price of fuel alcohol tracks the price of gasoline and bears no relationship to the cost of grain, it is very difficult to pass on any higher production costs to the ethanol purchaser. Thus, one of the most significant risks facing Midwest was that the cost of production could significantly increase over the term of the contract without a corresponding increase in the selling price, thereby adversely affecting the profitability of the contract.

9. Seaberg also testified that it is very difficult to hedge the risk for contracts greater than one year in length. He stated that there exist some expensive special hedging techniques that can be employed for a two-year contract, but for a four-year contract “you’re really taking a risk right on your own back.” Transcript, at 183-84.

10. According to Seaberg, if grain prices had risen during the period of time covered by the ARCO contract as they had during this past year, “we would not have had protection on the supply side and it would have been a very, very large loss.” Transcript, at 209.

11. Although Midwest sold ethanol to EnviroFuels during the first supply period on a spot basis at approximately 7.5% “margin” off of the ARCO purchase price, Midwest was not willing to obligate itself to that differential for a three-year period because it could not predict its future production costs. If Midwest was going to commit to a long-term contract, it had to have a much “closer,” or smaller, margin.

12. Consequently, Midwest was only willing. to agree to a 1.5% margin on its commitment to supply 18 million gallons of ethanol over a three-year period.

13. Although both Midwest and EnviroFuels agreed to assign EnviroFuels’ supply contract with ARCO to Midwest, ARCO refused to give its required consent to the proposed assignment.

14. In light of ARCO’s refusal, the contract was never assigned.

15. Ultimately, the parties orally agreed that for the remaining three-year period of the supply contract, Midwest would sell the [979]*97918 million gallons of ethanol to EnviroFuels at the ARCO price less 1.5%.

16. EnviroFuels purchased ethanol from Midwest in order to fulfill its obligations to ARCO under the last three years of its supply contract.

17. Through Midwest’s promise to provide the required ethanol at a price 1.5% below the ARCO price, EnviroFuels was relieved of the risk of rising production costs, and. of the risk of having to purchase ethanol to supply the contract at a price above the ARCO price.

18. As a result of the oral agreement between Midwest and EnviroFuels regarding the EnviroFuels/ARCO contract, Midwest received the following benefits from EnviroFuels: a commitment from EnviroFuels to purchase approximately 18 million gallons of ethanol at the ARCO price less 1.5%; and payment of all but $590,000 of the purchase price.

19. In exchange for those benefits, Midwest delivered to EnviroFuels the following consideration: a commitment to sell to EnviroFuels the 18 million gallons of ethanol required by the ARCO contract at the ARCO price less 1.5%; and the sale to EnviroFuels and the delivery to ARCO of the 18 million gallons of ethanol for the EnviroFuels/ARCO contract.

20. Ben Henneke, Jr., president of EnviroFuels, testified that over the course of supply periods 2, 3, and 4, EnviroFuels received from Midwest a 1.5% margin, or roughly $350,000.

21. EnviroFuels did not own any exclusive rights to do business with ARCO, such as a franchise or exclusive brokerage agreement.

B. The Midwest!ARCO Contract

22. In the spring of 1994, Midwest entered into a direct contract with ARCO to supply ethanol.

23. EnviroFuels had no part in the negotiation of Midwest’s direct contracts with ARCO.

24. Midwest never entered into any agreement, either oral or written, to pay commissions to EnviroFuels on Midwest’s sales of ethanol directly to ARCO. Seaberg testified that he had never promised EnviroFuels an annuity or future stream of payments for direct business by Midwest with ARCO.

C. The Dispute

25. In December of 1994, Ben Henneke directed Charlie Williams to “slow” payments to Midwest. Ultimately, EnviroFuels withheld payments as “liquidated damages” for non-payment of its purported right to 1.5% of the direct supply contracts between Midwest and ARCO.

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Bluebook (online)
948 F. Supp. 976, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19504, 1996 WL 742697, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/midwest-grain-products-inc-v-envirofuels-marketing-inc-ksd-1996.