Tracing the grain and the payment
The name on a delivery ticket or check may not resolve who owned the grain or who was entitled to receive the proceeds. A useful investigation follows the transaction from ownership and delivery through invoicing, payment and any later transfers.
Matthew Bialick evaluates the agreements, records and relationships behind the sale. That work helps identify the parties responsible for the disputed conduct and the evidence necessary to pursue or defend a claim.
Disputes involving grain transactions
MJB Law evaluates matters involving:
- Unpaid or disputed amounts under grain-sale agreements.
- Disagreements over ownership and authority to sell.
- Delivery and payment records that identify different parties.
- Grain sold through another person or entity.
- Competing claims to grain-sale proceeds.
- Security interests, claimed releases and buyer exposure.
The legal analysis depends on the particular transaction. A payment dispute, an ownership dispute and a claim to enforce a security interest may involve different rights and remedies, even when they arise from the same sale.
Experience in grain-fronting litigation
Matthew Bialick and James Magnuson represented Star Bank in litigation involving corn owned by a borrower but sold through another family member. In Star Bank v. Anderson, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment enforcing the bank's security interest against the grain buyer.
The July 15, 2024 decision is nonprecedential. It illustrates the importance of establishing ownership and tracing the transaction when the apparent seller and actual owner differ.
Read the Star Bank case summary
Read the Court of Appeals opinion
Grain fronting, fraud and recovery
A transaction conducted through another person can raise significant questions about ownership and payment. It does not follow that every disputed grain sale establishes fraud.
MJB Law assesses which claims the evidence supports, including contract, property, security-interest and, where appropriate, fraud or asset-recovery claims. For further background, see the firm's grain-fronting guide and fraud litigation and asset recovery practice.
Discuss your grain dispute
Relevant materials may include sale contracts, scale and delivery tickets, settlement sheets, checks, payment instructions, ownership records and communications about the transaction. Identify any pending sale, distribution of proceeds or response deadline when contacting the firm.
Contact Matthew Bialick
952-239-3095
View Matthew's profile
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