ST. LOUIS — U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton has granted summary judgment to defendants Ronnoco Coffee and Mid-America Roasterie in counterclaims brought by a New Orleans supplier of green coffee that was owed millions in debt by a company the defendants had considered purchasing.
According to the ruling issued on Feb. 15, Hamilton sided with Ronnoco and Mid-America in claims brought by Westfeldt Brothers, whose customer U.S. Roasterie owed approximately $2.6 million in unsecured debt.
Westfeldt brought claims against Ronnoco, which had engaged in talks with U.S. Roasterie to potentially acquire its assets. When it became aware of the substantial debt that U.S. Roasterie had accrued with Westfeld, Ronnoco ultimately did not go through with a purchase plan. It's subsidiary, Mid-America, eventually purchased U.S. Roasterie's equipment, inventory, accounts receivables and certain assets that had been collateral for another creditor, Great Western Loans, the ruling states.
After the sale, approximately $3.15 million of U.S Roasterie's secured debt to Great Western remained unpaid after an asset sale; and at the time of the sale, U.S. Roasterie owed Westfeldt approximately $2.69 million in unsecured credit.
According to the ruling, the sale agreement expressly stated, however, that Mid-America was not assuming any of the liabilities of U.S. Roasterie in connection with the sale.
In Westfeldt's counterclaims against Ronnoco and its executives, it claimed breach of contract/successor liability, open account/successor liability, breach of contract/single business entity/alter ego, open account/single business entity, unfair trade practices, conversion/civil conspiracy to commit conversion, unjust enrichment and breach of futures contracts. Westfeldt also claimed conspiracy to tortiously interfere with contractual relations.
Hamilton held that any inventory eventually acquired by Ronnoco came from Great Western.
“Under these circumstances, it is not unjust to allow Ronnoco to retain any alleged benefit,” she wrote.