Corporate Law: Successor Liability-Asset Sale-Inventory Purchases

Where a plaintiff corporation acquired substantially all of the assets of a competitor at a secured creditor’s private foreclosure sale in an agreement that declined to assume the competitor’s liabilities, in a case of first impression the plaintiff was not liable as the competitor’s successor for an unpaid acquisition inventory purchase from a third party.

Judgment is affirmed.

Ronnoco Coffee LLC v. Westfeldt Brothers Inc. (MLW No. 73953/Case No. 18-1498 – 13 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Loken, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Hamilton, J. (Tarak Anada, New Orleans, argued for appellant; David Lynn Coffman, Lisa M.N. DeBord and Jefferson R. Tillery appeared on the brief) (John D. Comerford, St Louis, argued for appellee; Michael J. Kuhn appeared on the brief).