On January 19, 2016, Judge William Skretny of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York confirmed an arbitration award which dismissed a $2 million personal injury and breach of contract claim brought against Cargill, Incorporated (“Cargill”). The plaintiffs, Walter Van Buren and Van Buren Farms, sued Cargill in New York State Court, claiming that a Cargill hay preservative product had caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to their hay and, in addition, caused serious personal injuries to the farm’s owner, Walter Van Buren. On behalf of Cargill, Webster Szanyi removed the case to federal court and then moved to stay the case pending an arbitration that was mandated on the invoices accompanying the product that was sold by Cargill. The initial arbitration proceeded before a three person arbitration panel of the National Grain and Feed Association (“NGFA”), which ruled in favor of Cargill. The plaintiffs appealed and an appeal/second arbitration was held before a five person panel in Chicago. Once again, Cargill prevailed and the plaintiffs’ claims were dismissed. In addition to dismissing the Van Buren’s claims, the arbitrators also granted Cargill’s counterclaim and awarded Cargill a judgment for the outstanding amount that was owed for the product that the Van Burens had purchased from Cargill.
Webster Szanyi’s client, Cargill, is the largest privately held corporation in the United States. Webster Szanyi attorneys Kevin A. Szanyi and Kevin T. O’Brien represented Cargill in this matter.
