Judge rules for Washington Potato in dispute with J.R. Simplot

A federal judge has ruled that Washington Potato Company is the sole owner of Pasco processing and its subsidiaries, including National Frozen Foods. The ruling ends a year of litigation over control of Pasco Processing.

U.S. District Court Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson issued the ruling Thursday in a yearlong case initially filed by Boise-based J.R. Simplot.

Simplot, a non-controlling co-owner of the two businesses, sued last September, alleging a pattern of mismanagement had placed the processing companies at risk of imminent collapse. Simplot accused owner Frank Tiegs of jeopardizing the companies’ future through a pattern of self-dealing and sought a court-appointed receiver to manage the business while the two sides negotiated.

Simplot and Washington Potato became joint owners of Pasco Processing in 2008, with Washington Potato acting as manager under an operating agreement. The operating agreement gave Washington Potato the right to buy out Simplot’s ownership interest if a deadlock could not be resolved.

Peterson ruled that Washington Potato acted appropriately when it bought out Simplot following a deadlock.

“We are happy to have this issue resolved once and for all,” Tiegs said in a press release announcing the outcome.

Washington Potato will ask that related litigation in King County be dismissed, arguing that Simplot no longer has standing to pursue the case.

This story was originally published October 28, 2017 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Judge rules for Washington Potato in dispute with J.R. Simplot."