Judge finds preseason written contract guaranteed payment at pledged price, which ended up much higher than most paid after 2014 season.
In 2014, two new processors bought salmon in Bristol Bay: Silver Bay Seafoods and Extreme Seafoods. Prior to the start of fishing, Extreme Seafoods promised a $2 dollar per pound price, plus a $5,000 signing bonus, and other benefits.
When fishing ended, some who had signed up to fish with Extreme said they were left unpaid, or underpaid. This week a civil court ruling held that the company owes at least one of the fishermen the agreed upon $2 per pound. KDLG’s Dave Bendinger has more:
Audio transcript: Extreme Seafoods, which operated out of the old Baywatch Plant in Naknek, had a rough entry into the Bay. Following tender troubles, a delivery of hot fish, and otherwise outsized expectations for the profits they would turn marketing sockeye, the company's first season in Bristol Bay proved to be their last.
Although a whole lot of Bristol Bay fishermen were hoping for $2 per pound price going into 2014, some actually signed contracts with Extreme preseason they felt guaranteed that price. Among them was drifter Fred Hansen. After the season, he hired attorney Tim Twomey to sue the company.
"Mr. Hansen approached me unhappy that he had not received what he was promised by Extreme Salmon, specifically $2 a pound for the fish that he had delivered to them," Twomey said. "Instead they paid what they claimed was the prevailing Bay price for the fish and breached a written agreement with him."
In a January ruling, Dillingham Superior Court Judge Pat Douglass held that the written contract did in fact promise a $2 per pound price, and that both parties needed to agree in writing to new terms in order to breach that contract. Hansen argued that Extreme did send out a letter out sometime mid-season, saying they no longer intended to pay the $2 price, but that he never signed an agreement to that.
The Extreme Seafood's fleet found themselves in a tight spot as the 2014 season rolled on, said Twomey, who has filed several lawsuits against the company.
"The fishermen were left in a position of having no alternative markets to sell their fish to," he said. "Extreme pulled out of the Bay early, and failed to pay all of their fishermen that had contracts in writing what they had agreed."
Extreme Seafoods didn’t return to the Bay in 2015. What’s left of the company as a fish processor is unclear, but a Seattle-based attorney still defends its interests.
Cash buyers who promise more than they’re able to deliver have come and gone often through this fishery’s history. When it happens again, Twomey's advice is seek legal help quickly.
"Under the Alaska statute, the fisherman selling the fish has a right to record a lien against the property of the cannery or the processor, but it has to be done within 90 days of delivering the fish," said Twomey. "So, it’s important to do something about a situation that isn’t right sooner rather than later."
Under Alaska law, a judge can also can award an attorney’s fees to the prevailing party.
Hansen's case hasn't been settled entirely. The judge asked for further evidence to determine what he is actually still owed by Extreme. That's expected to be resolved by the next court date in February.