"Both parties look forward to continuing a long and mutually beneficial relationship to grow the BP and ampm brands in Indianapolis," BP said in a statement yesterday.
Ricker Oil president Jay Ricker, currently chairman of the NACS board of directors, added, "Really, [the details] [image-nocss] are confidential, so I can't tell you much about that. We're just pleased that it's dismissed. We're ready to build the brand, and it was a friendly settlement," he told CSP Daily News.
In October, Ricker Oil filed a multiple-count lawsuit against its franchisor partner, BP, claiming that its ampm programs were unnecessarily costing Ricker "thousands of dollars per month."
The case involved 19 of Ricker's stores, which the company purchased from BP in 2008, and made numerous claims of contract breaches and Indiana state law violations. The lawsuit was filed the same day Ricker was handed the gavel at the NACS Show in Las Vegas to begin his term as chairman of the industry association.
The lawsuit charged Houston-based BP on six counts: breach of contract, violation of the Indiana Franchise Act, violation of the Indiana Deceptive Franchise Practices Act, fraud, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing and economic duress.
In November, a Southern District of Indiana judge approved a "joint motion to stay" action on the lawsuit until March 4. In the joint motion, BP and Ricker Oil "agreed to negotiate in good faith in an effort to resolve their differences without further litigation. Details of the joint agreement approved this month were not available.
The only financial amount noted in the original lawsuit referred to "over $75,000," but the lawsuit requests BP Products North America compensate Ricker Oil for its damages, costs, expenses and attorney's fees, plus prejudgment interest. It also requests compensation for future costs, all other expenses related to the lawsuit and "all other just and proper relief."
(Click here to read previous CSP Daily News coverage of the lawsuit filing.)
Founded in 1979, Ricker Oil is a family-owned company based in Anderson, Ind. It owns and operates 49 convenience stores in Indiana, as well as a petroleum dealership and other enterprises.
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