National Bankers Trust Corp. v. Peak Logistics, LLC et al

Case Summary: 12-CV-02268

Plaintiff National Bankers Trust Corporation (NBT) brought this action for breach of contract against Defendants Peak Logistics (Peak), a broker between shippers and carriers;  Andy’s Transportation, Inc. (Andy’s), a trucking company which carries freight; Pacer, a broker between shippers and carriers; and Zappos, an online shoe retailer. Zappos contracted with Pacer to handle the shipment and delivery of its shoes to various locations in the United States. Pacer contracted with Peak to perform the transport, and peak contracted with Andy’s to perform the transport and deliveries.

Andy’s entered into a Factoring Agreement with NBT, under which NBT would purchase Andy’s accounts receivable, and would release the funds to Andy’s as it received payment from Peak. While Andy’s hauled a load of Zappo’s shoes, which was brokered by Peak, the load was stolen. Neither Peak nor Andy’s disclosed the theft to NBT. NBT made collection calls to Peak, inquiring about payments on open invoices. While the theft was under investigation, Andy’s continued to haul Zappos' loads for Peak. During another transport by Andy’s, another load was stolen. Peak then informed NBT about the two claims for cargo loss and put all of Andy’s open invoices on hold. NBT sought payment of the open invoices, but Peak refused.

This video shows a jury trial to determine whether Peak must pay Andy’s open invoices. Plaintiff NBT argues that according to Peak’s insurance policy, Peak is liable for the deficiency between the amount paid to Zappos by Andy’s insurance for the stolen goods and the value of the stolen goods. Plaintiff also argues that Peak is liable because they formed a principal-agent relationship with Zappos when they were hired by Pacer. Defendant Peak argues that it is not liable because Andy’s failed to deliver goods as agreed, failed to take reasonable care in ensuring the safety of Zappos shoes, and failed to take appropriate security measures. Defendant also argues it should be indemnified for the lost profits resulting from termination of its relationship with Zappos, as a direct result of the events leading to this lawsuit. Defendant calls several witnesses, including a bookkeeper for Peak, to testify regarding the contracts between the parties. Plaintiff calls an NBT employee to testify about its relationship with Peak and Andy’s.

Case Highlights

• Complaint filed 4/5/2012 (Doc #1)
• Answer filed 5/14/2012 (Doc #24)
• Motion to Dismiss filed 12/21/2012 (Doc #79)

Case-related documents, including those referenced above, are available via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service. For more information, visit Pacer.gov.