8:22-cv-00071 Doc # 1 Filed: 02/22/22 Page 1 of 24 - Page ID # 1
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`Defendants.
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
`
`SYNGENTA SEEDS, LLC,
`CASE NO. 8:22-cv-71
`
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`
`
`v.
`
`
`
`
`ALTEN, LLC; MEAD CATTLE
`COMPLAINT
`COMPANY, LLC; GREEN DISPOSAL
`
`MEAD LLC; TANNER SHAW; and
`
`SCOTT TINGELHOFF,
`
`
`
`
`
`COMES NOW Plaintiff, Syngenta Seeds, LLC (“Syngenta”), and for its
`
`Complaint against the Defendants, states and alleges as follows:
`NATURE OF THE CASE
`Syngenta brings this lawsuit to hold Defendants accountable for their
`1.
`failure to address environmental hazards they caused and to recoup the substantial
`money Syngenta has spent on correcting Defendants’ failed environmental
`management.
`Defendant AltEn, LLC (“AltEn”) owns an ethanol manufacturing
`2.
`facility in Mead, Nebraska (“AltEn Facility”). Defendants Mead Cattle Company,
`LLC (“Mead Cattle”) and Green Disposal Mead, LLC (“Green Disposal”) conducted
`operations at the AltEn Facility. Defendants Tanner Shaw (‘Shaw”) and Scott
`Tingelhoff (“Tingelhoff”) ran all of those companies’ operations.
`Defendants mismanaged and ultimately abandoned the AltEn Facility
`3.
`last winter, leaving significant environmental risks. They left millions of gallons of
`untreated waste water on the site. Lagoons holding the wastewater were overfilled
`and at risk of failing. Thousands of tons of waste from AltEn’s ethanol refining
`process remained unattended. Environmental controls were lacking or nonexistent.
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`Defendants refused to remedy the mess. They disregarded their
`4.
`obligations under federal and state environmental laws, forcing the State of
`Nebraska to file a lawsuit to enforce these obligations.
`Last year, Syngenta, along with five other seed suppliers to AltEn,
`5.
`stepped up to the plate and volunteered to address immediate risks at the site,
`although they had not caused the AltEn mess. They did what Defendants were
`obligated to do but did not. They took action to protect the people and environment
`surrounding the AltEn Facility. They formed a response group, the AltEn Facility
`Response Group (“AFRG”), to stabilize environmental conditions at the AltEn
`Facility necessitated by the Defendants' improper and unlawful actions.
`The AFRG has already spent several millions of dollars performing
`6.
`that work, and site conditions are significantly improved as a result. Syngenta
`brings this lawsuit to recover from Defendants their share of those costs.
`Defendants should have done the work that the AFRG has done, and they should
`reimburse Syngenta.
`
`PARTIES
`Syngenta is a Delaware limited liability company. Its single member
`7.
`is Syngenta Corporation, which is a Delaware corporation whose principal place of
`business is in Delaware.
`AltEn is a Kansas limited liability company with its principal office
`8.
`located at 5225 Renner Road, Shawnee, Kansas 66217. Upon information and
`belief, AltEn’s known member is Platte River Green Fuels, LLC. Platte River Green
`Fuels, LLC is a Kansas limited liability company and its known members are E3
`Platte River, LLC, and Falcon Energy, LLC, which are identified in Platte River
`Green Fuels, LLC's Annual Report for the State of Kansas with an address of 5225
`Renner Road, Shawnee, Kansas 66217. E3 Platte River, LLC is a Kansas limited
`liability company and its known members are Falcon Energy, LLC and E3 Bio
`Fuels, LLC, which are identified in E3 Platte River LLC's Annual Report for the
`State of Kansas with an address of 5225 Renner Road, Shawnee, Kansas. Upon
`information and belief, Falcon Energy, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company
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`with an address of 5225 Renner Road, Shawnee, Kansas 66217. Upon information
`and belief, E3 Bio Fuels, LLC is a Delaware limited liability company and its known
`member is Earth, Energy & Environment, LLC. Earth, Energy & Environment,
`LLC is a Kansas limited liability company and has two known members, Dennis
`Langley (now deceased) and Langley Group Ltd., a Kansas for-profit corporation
`with an address of 5225 Rennder Road, Shawnee, Kansas 66217. All of the members
`and submembers of AltEn share AltEn’s principal address. That address is not an
`office building. It is a residential property that until recently was owned by the late
`Dennis Langley, a principal of AltEn.
`Mead Cattle is a Nebraska limited liability company, with its principal
`9.
`office located at 1344 County Road 10, Mead, Nebraska 68041 (the same as the
`AltEn Facility). Upon information and belief, the members and submembers of
`Mead Cattle trace back to one or more of the entities and other persons identified in
`Paragraph 8.
`10. Green Disposal is a Nebraska limited liability company, with its
`principal office located at 1344 County Road 10, Mead, Nebraska 68041 (the same
`as the AltEn Facility). Green Disposal owns and previously operated a biochar
`production unit at the AltEn Facility. Upon information and belief, the members
`and submembers of Green Disposal trace back to one or more of the entities and
`other persons identified in Paragraph 8.
`11. At all relevant times, upon information and belief, AltEn, Mead Cattle,
`and Green Disposal were operated and/or managed by the same persons, among
`whom were Shaw and Tingelhoff, and Shaw’s stepfather, Dennis Langley, then a
`resident of Kansas who is now deceased.
`Shaw is an individual who, upon information and belief, is domiciled in
`12.
`and is a citizen of Kansas City, Missouri and/or Kansas City, Kansas. At all
`relevant times, Shaw was and is the President and Chief Executive Officer of AltEn,
`Mead Cattle, and Green Disposal.
`13. Tingelhoff is an individual and a citizen of Nebraska. At all relevant
`times herein, Tingelhoff was and is currently the General Manager of AltEn.
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`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`14. This Court has diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 because
`this is a civil action between citizens of different states, and the amount in
`controversy exceeds the required threshold.
`15. For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, Syngenta is a citizen of
`Delaware, and, upon review of information publicly available to Syngenta, none of
`the named Defendants or their respective members or submembers is a citizen of
`Delaware.
`16. The amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.00, exclusive of interest
`and costs.
`17. This Court has personal jurisdiction over the Defendants. They either
`have contacts with the State of Nebraska sufficient to establish general jurisdiction
`over them here and/or committed acts in and otherwise have sufficient minimum
`contacts with the State of Nebraska such that they could reasonably expect to be
`haled into court in this forum.
`18. Venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) because a substantial
`part of the events, transactions, and occurrences giving rise to the claims occurred
`in this District.
`
`FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
`AltEn’s Ethanol Manufacturing Facility and Related Operations
`19. The AltEn Facility made ethanol for use as an engine fuel and fuel
`additive. Ethanol is an organic chemical compound produced by the distillation of
`organic materials like corn, wheat, sorghum, milo seed, and other grains
`(collectively, “Seed”). Distiller’s grains, also called “wet cake,” are a byproduct of
`ethanol production. Wet cake is essentially the residue of the organic materials
`from which the ethanol is produced.
`20. The ethanol plant at issue was built in 2007 and originally owned by
`E3 Biofuels-Mead, LLC. The groundbreaking ceremony for the plant was attended
`by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Nebraska State officials.
`AltEn eventually acquired it in or about 2013 following E3 Biofuels-Mead, LLC’s
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`bankruptcy. After becoming the owner of the AltEn Facility, AltEn obtained state
`and federal permits that subjected it to numerous regulatory requirements and
`inspections.
`21. AltEn operated the AltEn Facility for several years, producing
`approximately 24,000,000 gallons of ethanol annually, until it abruptly abandoned
`the site last winter.
`22. At all times relevant to this action, Mead Cattle owned and operated a
`cattle feedlot adjacent to the AltEn Facility. Mead Cattle’s operations functioned in
`conjunction with the AltEn Facility. Mead Cattle sent manure to the AltEn
`Facility. The manure was fed into two “digesters” that turned the manure into
`methane, which AltEn used to power its ethanol production. All five of the lagoons
`where Mead Cattle sent manure from its feedlot were located on the AltEn Facility.
`23. At all times relevant to this action, Green Disposal owned and
`operated equipment at the AltEn Facility to make biochar from wet cake generated
`by AltEn’s ethanol production. Biochar is a charcoal made by burning biomass at
`high temperatures in an inert (air-free) oven. Green Disposal’s biochar was
`intended to be added to soil to enhance the soil’s fertility.
`24. Green Disposal stored its biochar at the AltEn Facility in large totes
`made of a flexible, woven fabric called “supersacks.”
`25. An aerial photograph of the AltEn site is attached hereto as Exhibit
`
`A.
`
`26. AltEn, Mead Cattle, and Green Disposal shared an entrance onto the
`AltEn Facility’s property. The sole entry point to Mead Cattle’s property was from
`the AltEn Facility’s property.
`27. The AltEn Facility and Mead Cattle’s property also shared a natural
`gas pipeline. AltEn and Mead Cattle shared their property for other aspects of their
`operations as well.
`28. At all times relevant to this action, Tingelhoff and Shaw managed the
`AltEn Facility and oversaw and directed its operations, as well as the operations of
`Mead Cattle and Green Disposal.
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`29. At all times relevant to this action, the Defendants were engaged in a
`business, employment, and/or agency relationship with one another concerning the
`ownership, operation, management, control, and/or supervision of the AltEn
`Facility, Green Disposal, and Mead Cattle.
`Syngenta’s Contract with AltEn
`30. As originally constructed, the ethanol plant used “untreated” seed to
`make ethanol. AltEn adapted it to use “treated” seed as a raw material for the
`production of ethanol. Treated seed refers to seed that has been coated with
`pesticides that are registered and approved by EPA and the Nebraska Department
`of Agriculture (“NDA”) for this specific use. Treated seed is also regulated by the
`U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Federal Seed Act. Seed treatments are
`used to protect the seed from disease and to limit crop damages from fungus and
`insects. Treated seed is a lawful and very important product to the Nation’s
`farmers.
` The State of Nebraska authorized AltEn’s use of treated seed. In 2012,
`31.
`AltEn notified the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (“NDEQ”), in
`multiple letters sent to multiple divisions within NDEQ, that the company was
`reviewing the feasibility of using treated seed as a raw material for ethanol
`production. AltEn requested that NDEQ modify its existing waste water discharge
`permit and compost permit to allow for the use of treated seed at the AltEn Facility.
`In both instances, NDEQ issued modified permits (NPDES Permit No. NE0137634
`and Waste Management Permit No. NE0204447) containing provisions
`acknowledging and allowing the use of treated seed at the AltEn Facility.
`32. AltEn obtained treated seed for use in its production of ethanol from
`several companies, including Syngenta.
`33. AltEn and Syngenta entered into a Renewable Resource Material
`Agreement on or about July 1, 2016, which was amended April 1, 2018, (the “First
`Amendment”) and again on July 1, 2019 (the “Second Amendment”). Collectively,
`the Renewable Resource Material Agreement and its amendments are referred to
`herein as the “RRM Agreement.”
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`34. The RRM Agreement required AltEn to utilize the Seed in a safe and
`lawful manner and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
`35. AltEn represented and warranted to Syngenta in the RRM Agreement
`that AltEn had the requisite experience, knowledge, and expertise, suitable
`facilities, and qualified personnel to utilize the Seed.
`36. The RRM Agreement also required AltEn to keep in effect all permits,
`licenses, and other documentation required or that might become required to
`comply with governmental laws, rules, or regulations.
`37. Further, the RRM Agreement provided that AltEn will indemnify and
`hold harmless Syngenta from and against any and all claims, damages, losses,
`costs, and expenses arising out of or connected with the Seed, including AltEn’s
`utilization of the Seed or any other activities or operations of AltEn and its
`employees and agents, including negligence of AltEn or its employees and agents.
`38. The RRM Agreement further provided that AltEn will indemnify and
`hold harmless Syngenta for AltEn’s failure to comply with any applicable laws,
`orders, rules, or regulations, in addition to liabilities or damages resulting from any
`contamination of water, air, land, or the environment.
`Defendants’ Failure to Comply with Permit Obligations
`In documents provided to NDEQ to support the use of treated seed in
`39.
`the ethanol manufacturing process, AltEn stated that the resulting wet cake would
`be used in its digesters for biogas production. AltEn committed to test the chemical
`composition of the compost. AltEn also stated that land application rates of the
`material would follow the stricter of the NDEQ agronomic loading rates or the
`chemical loading rates as required by the EPA, Federal Seed Act, or seed
`manufacturer guidelines.
`found
`the NDEQ
`in 2017,
`40. Despite AltEn’s representations,
`approximately 30,000 tons of wet cake stored at the AltEn Facility, indicating it was
`not being used in the digesters. Given this exorbitant amount of wet cake, NDEQ
`ordered AltEn to prepare and implement a management plan to dispose of the wet
`cake by mid-January 2018.
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`41. AltEn, acting at Shaw’s and Tingelhoff’s direction, failed to comply
`with the NDEQ’s order.
`42. AltEn did conceive a plan to apply the wet cake to soil. AltEn
`registered its wet cake with the NDA as a soil conditioner under the Nebraska
`Commercial Fertilizer and Soil Conditioner Act. State officials subsequently
`collected samples of AltEn’s wet cake for testing. The NDA issued AltEn a Stop-Use
`and Stop-Sale Order on May 17, 2019, that prohibited the wet cake’s distribution as
`a soil conditioner (i.e., prohibiting land application), which accelerated the
`accumulation of wet cake at the AltEn Facility.
`43. On July 1, 2019, NDEQ merged with the Nebraska Energy Office to
`become the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (“NDEE”).
`44. On September 23, 2019, NDEE issued a Notice of Violation (“NOV”) to
`AltEn for waste disposal violations, including operating a solid waste management
`facility on its property without a permit, prohibited AltEn from stockpiling the wet
`cake onsite, and required disposal of the wet cake at a permitted solid waste
`management facility.
`In clear defiance of the NOV, AltEn continued to stockpile wet cake
`45.
`onsite without submitting a disposal plan or having a solid waste management
`permit as ordered in the NOV.
`46. By February 2020, Green Disposal too faced environmental violations
`related to the use of its biochar unit at the AltEn Facility and entered into a
`Consent Decree with NDEE to allow limited operation and testing of its biochar
`unit.
`47. A year later, on February 1, 2021, NDEE conducted a site visit and
`inspected three lagoons (West, Northeast, and Southeast Lagoons) at the AltEn
`Facility. The lagoons were used to hold approximately 180 million gallons of
`wastewater from AltEn’s, Mead Cattle’s, and Green Disposal’s manufacturing
`processes.
`48. NDEE found that each lagoon was overfilled beyond the engineering
`design specifications for the lagoons, in violation of AltEn’s permit requirements
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`and Nebraska law. NDEE also found that lagoon liners had not been repaired as
`required by the NOV and were not properly maintained.
`49. On February 4, 2021, NDEE issued a Complaint and Order requiring
`AltEn to immediately cease discharge of industrial wastewater into its wastewater
`lagoons.
`50. Thereafter, on February 8, 2021, Defendants shut down the AltEn
`Facility and stopped ethanol and biochar production.
`51. They have not resumed production.
`The February 2021 Discharge
`Just four days after the AltEn Facility shut down, on February 12,
`52.
`2021, a frozen pipe on one of two anaerobic digesters at the AltEn Facility ruptured,
`spilling out a significant volume of waste materials. The digesters each can hold 4
`million gallons.
`53. The significant discharge of these waste materials was uncontrolled
`and unpermitted, and flowed onto and off the AltEn Facility property into a
`drainage ditch and onto neighboring properties located as far as 4.5 miles from the
`digester tank. The discharge was due to Defendants’ abandonment of the site
`without proper measures to safeguard the digesters.
`54. The waste that was released in February 2021 from one of the two
`digesters included manure from Mead Cattle.
`Subsequent sampling and testing of ten emergency lagoon sludge
`55.
`samples by contractors for the AFRG in October 2021 showed the presence of
`animal byproduct residues in AltEn’s emergency lagoon. All emergency lagoon
`samples contained fecal coliform indicating the presence of animal byproduct
`residues, and more than 99 percent of saturated fat in lagoon samples was from
`sources other than soil-wet cake. This indicates that a portion of the waste
`discharged from and stored at the AltEn Facility was Mead Cattle’s waste.
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`Defendants’ Refusal to Mitigate and Clean Up
`56. On February 17, 2021, the NDEE issued a letter of non-compliance to
`AltEn, instructing AltEn to undertake efforts to mitigate and clean up the February
`12, 2021 discharge from the AltEn Facility.
`57. AltEn did not comply with NDEE’s directive.
`58. On February 20, 2021, after AltEn refused to address the discharge
`and was otherwise nonresponsive to NDEE’s mandates, NDEE issued an
`Emergency Order and Complaint (“Emergency Order”) requiring AltEn’s immediate
`action to mitigate the discharge. The Emergency Order also prohibited AltEn from
`resuming commercial and industrial operations until the discharge had been
`sufficiently remediated and would not further threaten or harm public health and
`the environment.
`59. AltEn failed to comply with the NDEE’s Emergency Order.
`60. On March 1, 2021, the State of Nebraska filed a Complaint against
`AltEn in the District Court of Saunders County, Nebraska, for violating the
`Emergency Order and for violations of the Nebraska Environmental Protection Act
`(“NEPA”), the Integrated Solid Waste Management Act (“ISWMA”), and permit
`conditions.
`61. AltEn, acting at Shaw’s and Tingelhoff’s direction, has failed to
`undertake any efforts to clean up the February 12, 2021 spill and has not
`participated in mitigation or cleanup efforts of the AltEn Facility to date.
`62. The other Defendants too took no efforts to clean up the February 12,
`2021 spill or participate in mitigation or cleanup efforts of the AltEn Facility to
`date.
`Syngenta’s Voluntary Response Following the February 2021 Discharge
`63. Defendants left the AltEn Facility in a state that presented significant
`environmental risks. In addition to the unremediated wastewater release from the
`discharger, they left thousands of tons of untreated wet cake on the property in
`improperly managed and inadequately secured piles. They left a property with
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` They left the lagoons overfilled with
`
`insufficient environmental controls.
`wastewater and in risk of failing.
`64. Confronted with these hazards and Defendants’ irresponsible and
`illegal failure to abate them, NDEE turned to Syngenta and other seed companies
`for assistance.
`65. To abate the pending hazards, Syngenta and the other seed companies
`began coordinating with NDEE on efforts to address conditions at the AltEn
`Facility.
`66. With Defendants continuing to refuse to fulfill their legal and
`contractual obligations to clean up and mitigate conditions at the AltEn Facility,
`Syngenta and the other seed companies voluntarily signed a Memorandum of
`Agreement (“MOA”) with NDEE under the NDEE’s Voluntary Cleanup Program
`regarding an interim response and site stabilization measures at the AltEn Facility.
`Syngenta and the other companies that signed the MOA are members of the AFRG.
`The MOA explicitly recognizes AltEn as the owner and operator at the AltEn
`Facility and states that Syngenta and other members of the AFRG confirm their
`actions as being voluntary, and deny they caused any land or water pollution at the
`AltEn Facility site.
`Since June 2021, the AFRG has been working with the NDEE to fund
`67.
`and implement response and stabilization measures at the AltEn Facility under the
`Voluntary Cleanup Program. The AFRG, through contributions by Syngenta and
`the other seed companies, has spent millions of dollars at the AltEn Facility.
`68. The AFRG has hired Newfields, an experienced and well respected
`environmental and engineering firm with extensive experience in waste abatement,
`to coordinate the project. The AFRG hired Clean Harbors as the principal
`contractor for the work. Clean Harbors is a leading provider of comprehensive
`hazardous waste management services throughout North America. The AFRG is
`also using highly specialized subcontractors for laboratory, geotechnical, health and
`safety, agronomic, and construction support.
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`69. At the AFRG’s direction and expense, Newfields and Clean Harbors,
`and their subcontractors, have undertaken substantial interim emergency actions
`and interim response measures at the AltEn Facility over the course of the last
`year.
`
`70. They have undertaken significant wastewater management efforts.
`Defendants left approximately 180 million gallons of untreated wastewater in four
`impoundments at the AltEn Facility. Three of those impoundments were overfilled
`above their design capacity, in violation of AltEn’s permit requirements and
`Nebraska law. NewFields and Clean Harbors brought onsite and installed ten large
`temporary tanks to store wastewater to lower the water in the impoundments to a
`safe level.
`71. They drained and refurbished the 3.5-acre emergency pond that
`Defendants had let deteriorate and had a failing liner.
`72. Even after the February 2021 spill, the digesters still contained seven
`million gallons of wastewater which contained manure from Mead Cattle.
`Defendants failed to safely winterize the digesters in preparation for freezing
`conditions in 2022. Newfields and Clean Harbors safely transferred that water into
`the repaired emergency lagoon and other locations to avoid another catastrophic
`release from the digesters.
`73. Newfields and Clean Harbors is completing the construction of a new
`lined pond system that will add 50 million gallons of additional capacity for
`wastewater. One of the ponds in that system is complete. The second is in
`construction.
`74. Newfields and Clean Harbors successfully treated 13 million gallons of
`wastewater that Defendants left untreated at the AltEn Facility. Water treatment
`efforts continue. With approval and oversight from NDEE, the AFRG plans to
`provide farmers with treated water for productive use on cropland.
`75. NewFields and Clean Harbors also safeguarded the thousands of tons
`of contaminated and unprotected wet cake that Defendants left in separate areas
`about the AltEn Facility. The wet cake, amounting to 250,000 cubic yards of
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`material, was consolidated to reduced environmental exposure and improve storm
`water collection efficiencies. They are in the process of covering the consolidated
`pile to reduce odors and better protect the environment.
`76. Newfields and Clean Harbors have winterized the AltEn Facility to
`help prevent further releases. They drained the digesters. They have characterized
`and containerized chemicals that Defendants abandoned at the AltEn Facility.
`
`Defendants Abandon the AltEn Facility and their Cleanup Obligations
`77. While Syngenta and the other members of the AFRG have been
`engaged in substantial response and stabilization activities at the AltEn Facility,
`Defendants have undertaken no efforts to address the environmental conditions
`they caused. Following the February 2021 spill, AltEn has not conducted regular
`operations at the AltEn Facility, nor has it taken responsibility for any site
`operations or maintenance activities, except to auction equipment and materials left
`onsite. In the course of auctioning equipment and materials, AltEn and its
`contractors have engaged in activities believed to have contributed additional
`wastewater to the lagoons.
`78. Defendants made no efforts to properly decommission the ethanol
`plant and leave the site in a safe and secure state.
`79. AltEn has abandoned large quantities of chemicals in tanks and/or
`piping within the AltEn Facility. These chemicals include combustible liquids,
`acids, and high pH materials which present aquatic, respiratory, and other hazards.
`80. AltEn has abandoned the site, including its debts and financial
`obligations to a growing list of vendors.
`81. Mead Cattle and Green Disposal likewise have ceased operation and
`abandoned the AltEn site.
`82. AltEn was awarded more than $210,000 in COVID-19 relief money by
`the Nebraska Department of Economic Development in November 2020, just
`months before it shut down the AltEn Facility and abandoned the site.
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`Notwithstanding, AltEn has abandoned the site, discharged its work force, and
`failed to pay its debts and other financial obligations.
`83. AltEn, Mead Cattle, and Green Disposal have been and continue to be
`engaged in a systematic transfer of assets that has the effect of, and is appeared
`designed to, deprive creditors of access to assets that would be used to fulfill the
`financial obligations of AltEn and the other entities.
`84. AltEn, Mead Cattle, and Green Disposal appear to be liquidating their
`tangible assets since ceasing operations.
`85. For example, AltEn has sold at least eighty (80) pieces of equipment
`and parts used at the AltEn Facility, including semi-trucks, forklifts, stainless-steel
`piping, and electrical conduit, through BigIron Auctions, and continues to list items
`for sale to date. Most recently, AltEn sold additional equipment and parts through
`BigIron Auctions in an auction that closed on February 16, 2022. AltEn has not
`contributed any of the sale proceeds from these auctions to site response efforts.
`86. Additionally, in the spring of 2021, Mead Cattle sold the feedlot
`property to Champion Feeders for millions of dollars. This sale was completed
`despite the written objections of Syngenta and another seed companies filed with
`the Saunders County Board of Supervisors, Village of Mead, and NDEE in a letter
`dated May 20, 2021. Mead Cattle has not contributed any of the proceeds from this
`sale to site response efforts.
`87. Further, the principal office for AltEn (and multiple other AltEn
`entities and members, as set forth above in this Complaint), which is a residential
`property located at 5225 Renner Road on Lake Quivira, in Shawnee, Kansas, was
`sold in or around August 2021 for millions of dollars under value by Dennis Langley
`(former manager of AltEn and AltEn’s related entities), and/or his assigns,
`beneficiaries, or representatives. None of these sale proceeds were contributed to
`site response efforts.
`88. AltEn has failed to maintain the property by leaving storm damage to
`buildings and berms unrepaired, and by not providing weed control, mowing, snow
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`removal, or site security and failing to conduct inspections as required by AltEn’s
`permits and applicable laws and regulations.
`89. AltEn has failed to pay any utility bills for the site, leaving Syngenta
`and the other seed companies to pay the gas and electric bills in order to perform
`the stabilization efforts at the AltEn Facility. The AFRG has also had to assume
`leases for office buildings and equipment while the AFRG stabilizes the site.
`90. AltEn has failed to pay property taxes for the AltEn Facility site, and
`on or about February 15, 2022, Saunders County issued a Property Tax Distress
`Warrant to AltEn in the amount of $23,274.20 for tax year 2021.
`Syngenta and other members of the AFRG have encountered
`91.
`difficulties in obtaining timely responses from AltEn to sign permit applications for
`site activities.
`92. The actions of AltEn, Mead Cattle, and Green Disposal show they have
`no intention to remediate and clean up the conditions they created at the site, and
`that they may be using cash from the other assets for other, unknown purposes,
`rather than expend those resources to satisfy their liabilities to Syngenta.
`COUNT I
`Breach of Contract Against AltEn
`Syngenta hereby reincorporates the above Paragraphs of its Complaint
`93.
`as though fully set forth herein.
`Syngenta and AltEn entered into a RRM Agreement under which
`94.
`Syngenta supplied certain Seed to AltEn for utilization and processing by AltEn in
`a manner that complied with all applicable laws.
`Syngenta has performed all terms and conditions as required under
`95.
`the RRM Agreement.
`96. AltEn breached its contractual obligations to Syngenta under the RRM
`Agreement by and through its failures to comply with applicable federal, state, and
`local laws.
`97. AltEn has further breached its contractual obligations to Syngenta
`under the RRM Agreement to utilize the Seed in a safe and lawful manner.
`
`
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`98. AltEn has further breached its contractual obligations to Syngenta by
`failing to obtain and keep in effect all permits, licenses, and other documentation
`required to comply to governmental laws, rules, or regulations.
`99. AltEn has further breached the RRM Agreement by causing
`contamination of the environment from its activities at the AltEn Facility.
`100. AltEn has further breached the RRM Agreement by acting in a manner
`inconsistent with and directly against the purposes and the express and/or implied
`terms of the RRM Agreement.
`101. As a direct and proximate result of AltEn’s breach, Syngenta has and
`will continue to suffer losses, expenses, costs, and damages as a direct and
`proximate cause of the unlawful and improper acts and contractual breaches of
`AltEn, its owners, contractors, officers, employees, representatives, and agents in
`an amount to be determined at trial.
`WHEREFORE, Syngenta prays for judgment against AltEn on Count I in an
`amount to be proven at trial, plus charges, interest, and consequential and
`incidental damages; prejudgment and post-judgment interest thereon at the highest
`legal rate; the costs of this lawsuit; attorney fees; and for such further relief as the
`Court deems just and equitable.
`
`COUNT II
`Breach of Warranty Against AltEn
`Syngenta hereby reincorporates the above Paragraphs of its Complaint
`85.
`as though fully set forth herein.
`86. Pursuant to the RRM Agreement, AltEn warranted to Syngenta