Last month, Brodal Farms Ltd. filed a motion in North Dakota state court for termination of arbitration proceedings and requested a hearing with Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM) “at the Court’s earliest convenience;” the case was removed to federal court by the agricultural giant Monday.
Brodal Farms claims that their requested termination of the arbitration proceedings with the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) is a result of there being no prior agreement between the parties to arbitrate, despite claims by ADM that there was such an agreement.
ADM, according to the complaint, claims that they made an agreement with Brodal Farms in which Brodal Farms would provide ADM with canola during February 2021. When Brodal Farms failed to deliver any canola during that time period, ADM perceived the failure as a breach of contract. ADM pursued arbitration as a means to resolve the dispute since they claimed that the aforementioned agreement regarding canola also included an agreement to arbitrate any disputes before the NGFA.
Brodal Farms denied the existence of any agreement detailing both canola sales and arbitration. They are seeking a termination of arbitration under the pretense that there was never a written or oral agreement to arbitrate any dispute. ADM acknowledges that Brodal Farms never signed the contract, but claim they are still bound to the terms of the contract since they confirmed the existence of the trade by asking questions about the specified delivery period.
Brodal Farms filed the motion to terminate arbitration proceedings in early October. ADM has continually filed motions that extend their allotted time to respond to Brodal Farms’ motion, the most recent of which was filed on Friday.ADM is represented in the ongoing litigation by Serkland Law Firm and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath , while Brodal Farms is represented by Pringle & Herigstad.
