Justia Business Law Opinion Summaries

Qwinstar and Pro Logistics entered into an agreement wherein Qwinstar would purchase Pro Logistics and employ its owner for a term of five years. Qwinstar fired the owner a few months after the sale and filed suit alleging that it did not receive the inventory it bargained for in the sale. The owner counterclaimed, alleging breach of the employment contract by not paying him for the full five-year term. The Eighth Circuit held that Qwinstar was unable to prove that the owner breached the contract and thus affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to the owner and Pro Logistics. The court held that summary judgment was inappropriate on the owner's counterclaim because the contract provisions were ambiguous and reasonably susceptible to more than one interpretation. Therefore, interpretation becomes a question of fact precluding summary judgment. View "Qwinstar Corp. v. Anthony" on Justia Law

After ten individuals resigned from West Plains to join a start-up freight brokerage operation founded by the former owner of West Plains, West Plains filed suit. The jury found defendants liable for tortious interference with business relationships and breach of the duty of loyalty. The Eighth Circuit affirmed, holding that, based on the nature and intent of their actions, a jury could reasonably find the employee defendants committed unjust acts of interference; the evidence was sufficient to show defendants' actions caused a loss of profits to West Plains, and that the loss continued after the expiration of the temporary injunction; there was sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find the employee defendants breached their duty of loyalty; given the extent to which each employee defendant was involved in the planning of the start up and the time in which they were so committed, there was adequate support for each forfeiture award; and there was abundant evidence showing defendants entered into an agreement tortiously to interfere with West Plains' business or to breach their duty of loyalty. Finally, the court affirmed the district court's denial of defendants' motion for a new trial or altered or amended judgment. View "West Plains, LLC v. Retzlaff Grain Co. Inc." on Justia Law