Country Visions argues before Supreme Court

Posted at 11:45 a.m. on February 25, 2021

The Brillion News

MADISON - The David versus Goliath case of Country Visions Cooperative (CVC) versus international ag giant Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) was argued before the Supreme Court of Wisconsin on the morning of Thursday, February 25.

The case is a civil lawsuit, filed by CVC, accusing ADM of violating a "right of first refusal" option that CVC had for a grain terminal property near Ripon.

The cooperative said ADM wanted to sell the site to United Cooperative and so set the sale price so high that it made no sense for CVC to pay it.

A lower court found the price set by ADM for United as a "sham price" to get around the right of first refusal.

Both sides presented their arguments.

A story in the February 25 print edition of The Brillion News details the arguments heading into Thursday's presentation to the state's highest court.

A story in the March 4 print edition of THE BRILLION NEWS will detail some of the arguments presented by CVC attorney J. Bushnell Nielsen and ADM counsel Ryan Walsh.

At the heart of the case: Can someone violate a right of first refusal agreement by setting a selling price unrealistically high?