Case Title: Miller Trucking, LLC, et al. v. APAC Mid-South, Inc., et al.

Citation: 

Docket Number: 1110724

State: alabama

Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Date: 2013-01-11T00:00:00Z

Document:
R e l : 
01/11/2013 
Notice: T h i s 
o p i n i o n i s s u b j e c t t o f o r m a l 
r e v i s i o n b e f o r e 
p u b l i c a t i o n i n 
t h e 
advance 
s h e e t s o f 
Southern Reporter. 
R e a d e r s a r e r e q u e s t e d t o 
n o t i f y t h e 
Reporter of 
Decisions, 
Alabama A p p e l l a t e C o u r t s , 300 D e x t e r Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229¬
0 6 4 9 ) , o f 
any 
t y p o g r a p h i c a l o r 
o t h e r e r r o r s , i n 
o r d e r t h a t c o r r e c t i o n s may 
be 
made b e f o r e 
t h e o p i n i o n i s 
p r i n t e d i n 
Southern Reporter. 
SUPREME COURT OF ALABAMA 
OCTOBER TERM, 2012-2013 
1110724 
M i l l e r Trucking, LLC, 
et a l . 
v. 
APAC Mid-South, Inc., 
et a l . 
Appeal from Jefferson C i r c u i t Court 
(CV-10-901966) 
PARKER, J u s t i c e . 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g , LLC, 
Ben M i l l e r , and M i r i a m 
M i l l e r 
( h e r e i n a f t e r 
c o l l e c t i v e l y 
r e f e r r e d t o as " t h e M i l l e r 
p l a i n t i f f s " ) a p p e a l a summary judgment i n 
f a v o r o f 
APAC 
M i d -
S o u t h , I n c . ("APAC"), O l d c a s t l e M a t e r i a l s , I n c . ( " O l d c a s t l e 
1110724 
M a t e r i a l s " ) , and S t e v e 
Reynolds 
( h e r e i n a f t e r 
c o l l e c t i v e l y 
r e f e r r e d t o 
as "the 
d e f e n d a n t s " ) . 
We r e v e r s e t h e 
judgment 
and 
remand t h e case. 
F a c t s and P r o c e d u r a l H i s t o r y 
The 
f a c t s o f t h i s a p p e a l a r e 
based on c o n t r a c t s between 
the Alabama Department o f 
T r a n s p o r t a t i o n ("ADOT") and APAC 
and 
between APAC and 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g . APAC i s 
an 
a g g r e g a t e - s u p p l y 
company w i t h q u a r r i e s i n 
A l a b a m a ; Reynolds i s 
APAC's s a l e s 
manager f o r m a t e r i a l s i n 
Alabama. 
As w i l l be d i s c u s s e d i n 
g r e a t e r 
d e t a i l below, ADOT h i r e d APAC t o p r o v i d e 
a g g r e g a t e 
m a t e r i a l s f o r 
d i s t r i b u t i o n t o c o u n t i e s , and APAC, i n t u r n , 
h i r e d M i l l e r T r u c k i n g t o h a u l t h e 
a g g r e g a t e m a t e r i a l s t o t h e 
c o u n t i e s p u r c h a s i n g t h e aggregate m a t e r i a l s from t h e S t a t e . 
Of p a r t i c u l a r i m p o r t a n c e t o 
t h i s a p p e a l a r e 
a d j u s t m e n t s t o t h e 
compensation APAC p a i d M i l l e r T r u c k i n g based on t h e c o s t o f 
f u e l d u r i n g t h e 
t i m e s r e l e v a n t t o t h i s 
a p p e a l . 
The M i l l e r p l a i n t i f f s ' c o m p l a i n t s e t f o r t h t h e 
f o l l o w i n g 
u n d i s p u t e d 
f a c t s : 
" I n 
2007, [ADOT] o f f e r e d 
c o u n t y 
governments i n 
Alabama r o a d b u i l d i n g m a t e r i a l s a t u n i f o r m p r i c e s . 
[ADOT] s o l i c i t e d 
c o m p e t i t i v e 
b i d s 
from 
m a t e r i a l s 
companies t o c o v e r t h e 
c o s t o f 
t h e 
m a t e r i a l and t h e 
h a u l i n g c o s t w h i c h v a r i e d depending on t h e l o c a t i o n 
of t h e b i d d e r ' s 
q u a r r y 
and o t h e r 
f a c t o r s . F o r 
2 
1110724 
example, a b i d d e r might b i d $14 t o 
buy and h a u l r i p 
rap 
r o c k 
from t h e A l e x a n d e r C i t y q u a r r y t o Coosa 
County b u t might b i d $26 t o h a u l t h e 
same m a t e r i a l 
t o a d i s t a n t c o u n t y such as C l a r k e County." 
I n o r d e r t o submit a b i d t o 
ADOT, APAC sought p r o p o s e d b i d s 
f o r 
s t a t e w i d e , 
c o u n t y - b y - c o u n t y h a u l i n g 
r a t e s from 
v a r i o u s 
t r u c k i n g companies, i n c l u d i n g M i l l e r T r u c k i n g . 
U s i n g 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ' s b i d t o 
APAC, APAC s u b m i t t e d i t s b i d t o 
ADOT. A t 
the time M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
s u b m i t t e d i t s b i d 
t o APAC i t was 
unaware t h a t t h e 
c o n t r a c t e v e n t u a l l y e n t e r e d i n t o by 
ADOT 
and 
APAC would i n c l u d e a f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e . 
On June 24, 2007, M i l l e r T r u c k i n g 
e n t e r e d 
i n t o a " H i r e d 
T r u c k e r Agreement" w i t h O l d c a s t l e M a t e r i a l s S o u t h e a s t , 
I n c . , 
d/b/a SRM A g g r e g a t e s ("SRM A g g r e g a t e s " ) ( h e r e i n a f t e r r e f e r r e d 
t o as "the 
2007 h i r e d - t r u c k agreement"). 
I n 2007, a t some 
p o i n t a f t e r t h e 
2007 h i r e d - t r u c k agreement was e n t e r e d 
i n t o , 
SRM 
A g g r e g a t e s , 
w h i c h was a w h o l l y 
owned 
s u b s i d i a r y o f 
O l d c a s t l e M a t e r i a l s , merged w i t h APAC. 
The 2007 h i r e d - t r u c k 
agreement d i d 
n o t s p e c i f y t h e work M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g was t o 
p e r f o r m , d i d n o t s p e c i f y how APAC would pay M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
f o r t h e u n s p e c i f i e d work, and d i d n o t i n c l u d e a f u e l - p r i c e -
a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e . 
3 
1110724 
A f t e r c o n s i d e r i n g the s u b m i t t e d b i d s , ADOT chose APAC t o 
s u p p l y a p o r t i o n of the a g g r e g a t e m a t e r i a l s t o the 
c o u n t i e s . 
ADOT and APAC e n t e r e d i n t o a c o n t r a c t a t some p o i n t i n 2007 
t h a t was 
e f f e c t i v e u n t i l September 30, 2008 ("the 2007 ADOT-
APAC c o n t r a c t " ) . 
On March 4, 2008, ADOT i s s u e d a document 
e n t i t l e d 
" S p e c i a l Terms and 
C o n d i t i o n s , " 
an addendum t o 
the 
2007 ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t , e f f e c t i v e from J a n u a r y 15, 2008, t o 
September 30, 2008, a l l o w i n g the p r i c e of the 
f i n a l d e l i v e r y 
charge t o be 
a d j u s t e d 
up 
or down based on the then 
c u r r e n t 
p r i c e of g a s o l i n e 
("the 2007 ADOT-APAC 
f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e " ) . 
Under 
the 
2007 ADOT-APAC 
f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e , as the p r i c e of g a s o l i n e i n c r e a s e d or d e c r e a s e d , ADOT 
would i n c r e a s e or d e c r e a s e the h a u l i n g r a t e s owed APAC; the 
2007 ADOT-APAC f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e 
a l l o w e d 
f o r 
as 
much as a 15% d e c r e a s e and as much as a 20% i n c r e a s e i n the 
h a u l i n g r a t e s owed t o APAC. 
Ben 
M i l l e r ' s 
d e p o s i t i o n 
t e s t i m o n y 
i n d i c a t e s t h a t 
f u e l 
p r i c e s began i n c r e a s i n g d u r i n g the 
f i r s t q u a r t e r of 2008 
and 
t h a t he 
c o n t a c t e d APAC about the 
i n c r e a s e . 
Joe Hughes, 
an 
employee of APAC, had i n f o r m e d Ben 
M i l l e r by t e l e p h o n e 
" t h a t 
t h e r e was 
a f u e l s t i p u l a t i o n " i n the 2007 ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t 
4 
1110724 
t h a t a l l o w e d APAC t o r e c o v e r i n c r e a s e d charges from ADOT based 
on the r i s i n g c o s t of f u e l . 
On March 19, 2008, Ben M i l l e r e¬
m a i l e d L i n d a L a n d r e s s , h i s p r i m a r y c o n t a c t a t APAC, a s k i n g her 
i f she had "heard a n y t h i n g on the f u e l s i t u a t i o n . " 
L a n d r e s s 
responded t o Ben M i l l e r ' s i n q u i r y w i t h the f o l l o w i n g e - m a i l : 
"From my u n d e r s t a n d i n g , we have someone i n [ t h e ] 
a c c o u n t i n g 
department 
who 
i s g o i n g 
back 
t o a l l 
d e l i v e r i e s and, based on r u l e s on s t a t e b i d , b i l l i n g 
the s t a t e e n t i t i e s a f u e l s u r c h a r g e . Once t h e y pay, 
we 
w i l l r e i m b u r s e you t h a t s u r c h a r g e amount. G o i n g 
f o r w a r d , we 
w i l l be a d d i n g the s u r c h a r g e 
p e r c e n t a g e 
t o your h a u l r a t e s as we s e t up o r d e r s t o 
d e l i v e r . " 
Ben M i l l e r s t a t e d as f o l l o w s i n h i s d e p o s i t i o n t e s t i m o n y about 
the e - m a i l exchange between him and L a n d r e s s : 
"Q. 
... [W]hat was 
your u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f what 
was 
g o i n g t o t a k e p l a c e i n response 
t o the 
f u e l 
s i t u a t i o n t h a t you r e f e r e n c e d i n your 
e - m a i l ? 
"[Ben 
M i l l e r : ] 
That 
t h e r e 
was 
a 
s u r c h a r g e 
between APAC and the s t a t e , and t h e y would o b v i o u s l y 
attempt t o p r o c u r e the money. 
"Q. Okay. I n o t h e r words, APAC h e a r d what you 
were 
s a y i n g , and 
t h e y were 
g o i n g 
t o 
i n v o k e 
the 
s u r c h a r g e t h a t was p a r t of t h e i r c o n t r a c t w i t h the 
s t a t e ? 
"[Ben 
M i l l e r : ] R i g h t , because I 
t o l d APAC 
I 
c o u l d not h a u l and no one c o u l d . 
"Q. Under the c u r r e n t f u e l ? 
"[Ben M i l l e r : ] I n the c u r r e n t 
s i t u a t i o n . 
5 
1110724 
"Q. The c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n b e i n g f u e l p r i c e s were 
g o i n g up d r a m a t i c a l l y ? 
"[Ben M i l l e r : ] Yes. 
"Q. Okay. So n o t o n l y i n response t o what you 
had asked d i d 
APAC say 
we're g o i n g t o 
make sure t h a t 
the -- t h a t we've i n v o k e 
[ s i c ] 
t h e f u e l - s u r c h a r g e 
p r o v i s i o n w i t h t h e s t a t e , b u t g o i n g f o r w a r d , we're 
a l s o g o i n g t o be a d d i n g t h e s u r c h a r g e p e r c e n t a g e t o 
your h a u l r a t e s , c o r r e c t ? 
"[Ben 
M i l l e r : ] T h a t i s 
what t h i s e - m a i l 
s a y s , 
yes. 
"Q. ... [ D ] i d 
you have an u n d e r s t a n d i n g 
t h a t 
APAC was g o i n g t o go back and make s u r e t h a t t h e 
s t a t e f o r 
a l l 
t h e p r e v i o u s h a u l s t h a t you had done 
had upped i t s f u e l p r i c e based on t h e s u r c h a r g e i n 
the APAC and s t a t e c o n t r a c t ? 
"[Ben M i l l e r : ] P r e v i o u s h a u l s ? 
"Q. P r e v i o u s h a u l s ? 
"[Ben M i l l e r : ] I'm n o t 
aware t h a t t h e y d i d t h a t . 
Yeah, I'm n o t aware. 
"Q. Okay. But then on a g o i n g - f o r w a r d b a s i s , 
d i d 
you have an u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t t h e y were g o i n g t o 
be 
i n v o k i n g t h e f u e l - s u r c h a r g e p r o v i s i o n and making 
sure t h a t i t 
was i n p l a c e so t h a t t h e p r i c e 
t h a t 
t h e y 
r e c e i v e d on t h e 
s t a t e 
work was 
a d j u s t e d 
a c c o r d i n g l y ? 
"[Ben M i l l e r : ] Yes. 
"Q. Okay. And t h a t ... would o b v i o u s l y f l o w down 
t o M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ? 
"[Ben M i l l e r : ] Yes. 
6 
1110724 
"Q. 
And 
d i d t h a t t a k e p l a c e i n 2008? 
"[Ben 
M i l l e r : ] 
To the b e s t of my knowledge, i t 
d i d . " 
In f a c t , from J a n u a r y 15, 2008, t o September 30, 2008, which 
was 
d u r i n g the term of the 2007 ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t , APAC p a i d 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g a p p r o x i m a t e l y $1,000,000 f o r h a u l i n g s e r v i c e s ; 
a p p r o x i m a t e l y $200,000 of t h a t amount was upward 
f u e l - p r i c e -
a d j u s t m e n t 
payments. 
I t 
appears 
t h a t APAC 
p a i d 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h the b i d M i l l e r T r u c k i n g 
s u b m i t t e d 
t o APAC i n June 2007 and i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h APAC's and 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ' s 
n e g o t i a t i o n s 
c o n c e r n i n g 
the 
e s c a l a t i n g 
c o s t 
of 
f u e l . 
As 
the 
2007 
ADOT-APAC 
c o n t r a c t 
was 
n e a r i n g 
i t s 
c o m p l e t i o n , ADOT a g a i n 
s o l i c i t e d b i d s t o c o n t i n u e 
s u p p l y i n g 
a g g r e g a t e m a t e r i a l s 
t o c o u n t i e s 
t h r o u g h o u t the 
s t a t e . 
Ben 
M i l l e r ' s 
d e p o s i t i o n t e s t i m o n y i n d i c a t e s t h a t i n August 2008 
APAC r e q u e s t e d t h a t M i l l e r T r u c k i n g 
submit a b i d t o APAC so 
t h a t APAC c o u l d , i n t u r n , submit a b i d t o ADOT. 
Ben 
M i l l e r ' s 
d e p o s i t i o n t e s t i m o n y i n d i c a t e s t h a t , b e f o r e s u b m i t t i n g 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ' s 
b i d 
t o APAC, 
Ben 
M i l l e r 
spoke 
w i t h 
R e y n o l d s 
c o n c e r n i n g f u e l p r i c e s f o r the coming c o n t r a c t u a l p e r i o d ; 
Ben 
M i l l e r 
s t a t e d 
t h a t , 
"from 
t h a t 
d i s c u s s i o n , 
I 
drew 
the 
7 
1110724 
c o n c l u s i o n t h a t I needed t o b i d 
on l a s t y e a r ' s f u e l 
p r i c e s . " 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g s u b m i t t e d a b i d 
t o 
APAC on September 3, 2008, 
w h i c h assumed f u e l p r i c e s o f 
$2.50 t o 
$2.70 p e r g a l l o n . APAC, 
based on M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ' s September 3, 2008, b i d , p l a c e d a 
b i d w i t h ADOT i n an e f f o r t t o s e c u r e a c o n t r a c t from ADOT. 
APAC was awarded a p o r t i o n o f t h e 
work by ADOT. On August 30, 
2008, ADOT i s s u e d a c o n t r a c t between i t 
and APAC f o r 
t h e 
p e r i o d October 1, 2008, t o September 30, 2009 ("the 
2008 
ADOT-
APAC c o n t r a c t " ) ; 
t h e 
c o n t r a c t i n c l u d e d a f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e ("the 2008 ADOT-APAC f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e " ) . 
The 
2008 ADOT-APAC 
f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e 
s t a t e d , i n 
p a r t : 
"SHOULD AVERAGE FUEL PRICES EXCEED THE HIGHEST PRICE 
PER 
GALLON 
INDICATED IN THE CHART ABOVE, 
(OR 
DECREASE BELOW THE LOWEST-LISTED PRICE), THE MILEAGE 
ADJUSTMENT 
RATE WILL CONTINUE 
TO 
INCREASE 
(OR 
DECREASE) IN 5% INCREMENTS FOR EACH $0.20 PER GALLON 
INCREASE OR DECREASE IN THE REFERENCED AVERAGE FUEL 
INDEX." 
( C a p i t a l i z a t i o n i n o r i g i n a l . ) The 2007 ADOT-APAC 
f u e l - p r i c e -
a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e 
d i d n o t c o n t a i n 
s i m i l a r 
language b u t , 
i n s t e a d , l i m i t e d t h e 
amount 
o f f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t i n c r e a s e s 
or d e c r e a s e s t h a t c o u l d be a s s e s s e d a g a i n s t APAC. On November 
20, 2008, APAC s e n t Ben M i l l e r , v i a e - m a i l , n o t i c e o f t h e 
2008 
8 
1110724 
ADOT-APAC f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t c l a u s e . 
The e - m a i l from APAC 
t o Ben 
M i l l e r i n d i c a t e d t h a t R e y n o l d s was g o i n g t o 
t e l e p h o n e 
Ben 
M i l l e r 
t h a t 
day 
t o 
d i s c u s s 
the 
f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e ; the r e c o r d does not 
i n d i c a t e whether t h a t 
t e l e p h o n e 
c a l l 
o c c u r r e d . 
In December 2008, APAC a s s e s s e d 
a r e t r o a c t i v e , downward 
f u e l - p r i c e 
a d j u s t m e n t a g a i n s t M i l l e r T r u c k i n g i n the amount of 
$11,001.30 f o r work M i l l e r T r u c k i n g had p e r f o r m e d f o r APAC. 
Ben 
M i l l e r r e q u e s t e d 
a m e e t i n g w i t h R e y n o l d s , w h i c h 
o c c u r r e d 
i n J a n u a r y 2009. 
R e y n o l d s ' s d e p o s i t i o n t e s t i m o n y 
c o n c e r n i n g 
t h a t m e e t i n g i s as 
f o l l o w s : 
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] We 
d i s c u s s e d the c u r r e n t economic 
s i t u a t i o n 
and the S t a t e c o n t r a c t . 
"Q. 
D i d [Ben 
M i l l e r ] l e t you know a t t h a t time 
t h a t 
t h i s 
i s a v e r y 
d i s t r e s s i n g 
s i t u a t i o n 
here 
as 
f a r as [ M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ' s ] a b i l i t y t o h a u l and make 
any k i n d of money on the 
h a u l ? 
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] 
Yes. 
"  
"Q. 
... 
I s i t t r u e t h a t i n t h i s m e e t i n g 
[Ben 
M i l l e r ] 
s a i d , 
l o o k , you know, we d i d n ' t know about 
t h e s e 
d e d u c t i o n s 
u n t i l 
a f t e r 
we 
had 
a l r e a d y been 
p a i d , and we had a l r e a d y p a i d our h a u l e r s ; and 
so, 
what we 
need i s a 
s i t u a t i o n 
i n the 
f u t u r e where 
[APAC] q u o t e [ s ] 
a 
r a t e 
t o 
us, 
and 
then 
[ M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ] 
d e c i d e [ s ] 
whether 
[ M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ] 
9 
1110724 
want[s] t o h a u l under t h a t r a t e ? D i d you [and 
Ben 
M i l l e r ] have t h a t k i n d o f d i s c u s s i o n ? 
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] We d i d . 
"Q. And d i d 
APAC agree a t t h a t time when t h e y 
t e n d e r e d a l o a d t o M i l l e r 
[ T r u c k i n g ] 
t h a t i t 
would 
be 
t e n d e r e d 
w i t h 
t h e a d j u s t e d 
r a t e 
so 
[ M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ] 
c o u l d make a d e c i s i o n as t o whether [ i t ] 
c o u l d p r o f i t a b l y do t h e h a u l ? 
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] No, t h a t ' s n o t my r e c o l l e c t i o n a t 
a l l . 
"Q. 
What 
i s your 
r e c o l l e c t i o n 
about 
t h a t 
u n d e r s t a n d i n g 
o r t h a t 
d i s c u s s i o n ? 
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] T h a t ' s when we a g r e e d t h a t we would 
ask t h e c o u n t i e s t o a c c e p t l e s s o f a d i s c o u n t a t 
t h e 
10 p e r c e n t 
r a t e . 
"Q. A c c e p t l e s s than t h e 10 p e r c e n t ? 
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] No, a c c e p t 10 p e r c e n t , r a t h e r than 
the 
f u l l 50 o r 40 
[percent] 
o r whatever i t might 
have been a t t h e t i m e . 
"Q. D i d you 
t e l l 
[Ben M i l l e r ] 
... t h a t you 
t h o u g h t t h a t c o u l d be a r r a n g e d ? 
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] No, I t o l d [Ben M i l l e r ] we would 
attempt t o do t h a t . 
"Q. And what d i d 
you c o n t e m p l a t e a t t h a t time 
would make up your a t t e m p t ? 
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] W e l l , when t h e o r d e r s came i n , we 
would ask. We would e x p l a i n t h e s i t u a t i o n and ask 
the 
c o u n t i e s , w h i c h t h e p r i c e 
t h a t t h e y would be 
p a y i n g was 
s t i l l l o w e r than t h e b i d , so t h e y would 
a c c e p t i t . 
10 
1110724 
"  
"Q. ... A f t e r 
t h i s m e e t i n g , d i d you t e l l Ms. 
L a n d r e s s t o do a n y t h i n g 
d i f f e r e n t i n t h e way 
t h a t 
she communicated t h e h a u l s t o M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ? 
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] Yes. 
"Q. T e l l me what was o l d 
and what was new. 
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] W e l l , what was new was t h a t t h e 
c o u n t i e s 
t h a t had a c c e p t e d t h e 10 p e r c e n t 
d i s c o u n t , 
she was t o l e t [ M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ] know t h a t t h e y had 
a c c e p t e d t h a t . The ones t h a t d i d n ' t a c c e p t i t , she 
was t o l e t [ M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ] know t h a t , as w e l l . 
"  
"Q. I u n d e r s t a n d you t o say t h a t t h e r e was no 
agreement r e a c h e d . You deny t h e r e was an agreement 
r e a c h e d about whether 
M i l l e r 
[ T r u c k i n g ] 
would be 
t e n d e r e d a l o a d w i t h t h e e x a c t r a t e t h a t t h e y would 
get q u o t e d so t h a t t h e y c o u l d make a d e c i s i o n . I 
u n d e r s t a n d you say t h e r e was no agreement t o do 
t h a t . 
But what I'm 
a s k i n g 
you i s : A f t e r 
t h a t 
m e e t i n g , would M i l l e r T r u c k i n g be t o l d by APAC what 
the a c t u a l r a t e would be t h a t t h e y would be h a u l i n g 
a t i f 
t h e y a c c e p t e d t h e l o a d ? 
"  
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] Yes. 
"  
"Q. Was t h e r e any d i s c u s s i o n a t t h a t time t h a t 
i f 
M i l l e r 
[ T r u c k i n g ] 
would hang i n t h e r e , so t o 
s p e a k , and c o n t i n u e t o h a u l t h a t M i l l e r 
[ T r u c k i n g ] 
would be a p r e f e r r e d h a u l e r f o r 
o t h e r more l u c r a t i v e 
p r o j e c t s i n t h e f u t u r e ? 
11 
1110724 
" [ R e y n o l d s : ] Y e s , 
we t o l d Ben [ M i l l e r ] t h a t we 
would t r y 
t o h e l p him on o t h e r c o n t r a c t s o u t s i d e o f 
[the 2008 ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t ] , t h a t we would t r y t o 
h e l p him, because t h i s i s a s m a l l p o r t i o n o f t h e 
t o t a l 
b u s i n e s s 
t h a t 
we 
d o . So, 
w i t h 
o t h e r 
o p p o r t u n i t i e s out t h e r e , y e s , 
we c e r t a i n l y wanted 
t o 
a s s i s t him w i t h h i s d i f f i c u l t i e s . " 
Ben M i l l e r ' s d e p o s i t i o n t e s t i m o n y c o n c e r n i n g t h e 
same m e e t i n g 
s t a t e s : 
"Q. Okay. And what was t h e g i s t o f what was 
d i s c u s s e d a t t h e m e e t i n g t o t h e e x t e n t 
t h a t you 
r e c a l l ? 
"[Ben 
M i l l e r : ] 
We 
were 
g e t t i n g 
r e t r o a c t i v e 
d e d u c t i o n s i n 
a r r e a r s . We c o u l d n ' t -- we were p a y i n g 
the 
t r u c k s X amount, and we were g e t t i n g random 
d e d u c t i o n s . [
1 ] We d i d n ' t know what we were g e t t i n g 
p a i d t o h a u l f o r , and we needed t o do something. And 
a t t h i s p o i n t , t h e 
b e s t o f my memory, [Reynolds] was 
g o i n g t o i n s t r u c t [Landress] t o g i v e me t h e r a t e as 
she had done i n t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r ; and she d i d 
do 
t h a t f o r 
a c o u p l e o f e - m a i l s , and then i t stopped. 
"And then we were a l s o t o l d t h a t t h e r e was a 10 
p e r c e n t , a k i t t y o f some s o r t , and our u n d e r s t a n d i n g 
was t h e r e was money b e i n g p u t i n t o t h a t k i t t y , 
t h a t 
10 p e r c e n t , o r would be p u t i n t o t h a t 10 p e r c e n t -¬
would be p u t i n t o t h e k i t t y o f 10 p e r c e n t , and t h e y 
would use t h a t f o r 
any f u t u r e d e d u c t i o n s . And t h e r e 
would 
be 
no 
more 
m o n s t r o s i t y 
d e d u c t i o n s 
o f 
[$]40[,000] t o $50,000 way a f t e r t h e f a c t . 
"  
1 M i l l e r T r u c k i n g s u b c o n t r a c t e d t h e h a u l i n g work t h a t APAC 
h i r e d 
i t t o p e r f o r m . 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g d i d n o t own any 
equipment and d i d 
n o t 
have any d r i v e r s who worked d i r e c t l y 
f o r 
i t . 
12 
1110724 
"Q. Okay. So you w a l k e d away from t h a t m e e t i n g 
w i t h t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the f o l l o w i n g p o i n t s , t h a t 
number one, t h e y had some s o r t o f a k i t t y s e t up 
where t h e y would s e t a s i d e 10 p e r c e n t of a l l the 
h a u l i n g t h a t you were g o i n g t o be d o i n g -¬
"[Ben M i l l e r : ] Yes. 
"Q. -- g o i n g f o r w a r d ? 
"[Ben M i l l e r : ] Yes. 
"  
"Q. Okay. And t h e r e would be no more d e d u c t i o n s ? 
"[Ben M i l l e r : ] That i s c o r r e c t . 
"  
"Q. Okay. Was t h e g i s t of t h e m e e t i n g 
something 
needs t o change or we c a n ' t h a u l any more under t h i s 
c o n t r a c t ? 
"[Ben M i l l e r : ] Yes. 
"  
"Q. ... In t h e [January 2009] meeting 
d i d 
you 
u n d e r s t a n d , 
based on what Mr. R e y n o l d s 
s a i d , 
t h a t [APAC was] g o i n g t o g i v e [ M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ] the 
r a t e 
-- when 
[APAC] 
t e n d e r e d a h a u l t o 
[ M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ] , 
[APAC 
was] 
g o i n g 
t o 
g i v e 
[ M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ] t h e r a t e and a l s o whether t h e r e would be 
any 
a d j u s t m e n t , 
based 
on 
the 
f u e l 
c o s t , 
where 
[ M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ] c o u l d make a d e c i s i o n ? 
"[Ben 
M i l l e r : ] 
A b s o l u t e l y , y e s . 
That's 
my 
p o i n t . " 
13 
1110724 
On F e b r u a r y 7, 2009, f o l l o w i n g Ben M i l l e r ' s meeting w i t h 
R e y n o l d s , Ben M i l l e r s e n t the f o l l o w i n g e - m a i l t o L a n d r e s s : 
" T h i s i s a d i r e emergency. I met w i t h [Reynolds] 
two weeks ago about the 
f u e l 
s i t u a t i o n 
c o n c e r n i n g 
the S t a t e . I t was my i m p r e s s i o n [ t h a t ] he was 
g o i n g 
to 
i n s t r u c t 
[another APAC employee] t o b i l l a t the 
q u o t e d 
r a t e 
from 
J a n u a r y 
9, 
2009, 
f o r w a r d , 
and 
r e [ - ] b i l l 
a l l p r i o r 
h a u l i n g a t s a i d 
r a t e . 
I even 
spoke w i t h [another APAC employee] about the same 
i s s u e t o make sure a l l 
was 
w e l l , and she a s s u r e d me 
J a n u a r y 9, 2009, would be the l a s t check w i t h any 
type of d e d u c t i o n . We have now i n c u r r e d a $43,371.52 
( t h i s money was p a i d t o the t r u c k owners ... gone) 
l o s s t h i s f i s c a l year f o r n e g a t i v e f u e l c h a r g e s , and 
are s t i l l owed a p p r o x i m a t e l y $1600.00 i n u n p a i d f u e l 
s u r c h a r g e s 
f o r the p r e v i o u s y e a r . No company 
can 
h a n d l e 
t h i s type of l o s s . A t t h i s r a t e we 
w i l l 
be 
u n a b l e t o meet p a y r o l l f o r the coming week. We must 
address t h i s as soon as p o s s i b l e . We do not want t o 
q u i t 
h a u l i n g on 
the S t a t e C o n t r a c t , b u t 
a t 
t h i s 
p o i n t i t l o o k s as i f we must. P l e a s e c a l l me as soon 
as p o s s i b l e . T h i s i s an emergency." 
On 
F e b r u a r y 
9, 
2009, 
L a n d r e s s 
responded 
v i a e - m a i l , 
as 
f o l l o w s : " W e l l , you might know, my 
f i r s t time a f t e r b e i n g t o l d 
to put the h a u l r a t e on t h e s e e - m a i l s -- I f o r g o t . Anyway, the 
h a u l 
r a t e 
i s $5.40 p e r 
t o n 
" 
R e y n o l d s ' s 
d e p o s i t i o n 
t e s t i m o n y 
i n d i c a t e s 
t h a t , 
f o l l o w i n g 
h i s meeting 
w i t h 
Ben 
M i l l e r i n J a n u a r y 2009, he had i n s t r u c t e d L a n d r e s s t o i n c l u d e 
the h a u l r a t e i n her e - m a i l s t o M i l l e r T r u c k i n g . 
On January 5, 2009, M i l l e r T r u c k i n g s i g n e d a " H i r e d Truck 
Q u a l i f i c a t i o n Agreement" w i t h APAC and O l d c a s t l e M a t e r i a l s 
14 
1110724 
("the 
2009 h i r e d - t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement"). 
The 
2009 
h i r e d - t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement s e t f o r t h the work M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g was 
t o p e r f o r m and gave M i l l e r T r u c k i n g the r i g h t 
t o 
" a c c e p t or 
r e j e c t 
any 
a s s i g n m e n t s t e n d e r e d t o i t " by APAC. 
The 
2009 
h i r e d - t r u c k 
q u a l i f i c a t i o n 
agreement 
s t a t e s 
t h a t 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g 
" s h a l l submit t o [APAC] r e q u e s t s / a p p l i c a t i o n s 
f o r payment b a s e d on [APAC] h o u r l y r a t e s i n e f f e c t a t the time 
the work i s p e r f o r m e d ... 
and 
s h a l l be p a i d monthly, by 
the 
10th 
c a l e n d a r 
day 
of 
the 
f o l l o w i n g month." 
A 
f u e l - p r i c e -
a d j u s t m e n t c l a u s e 
was 
not 
i n c l u d e d 
i n the 2009 
h i r e d - t r u c k 
q u a l i f i c a t i o n 
agreement. 
F u r t h e r , 
the 
2009 
h i r e d - t r u c k 
q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement c o n t a i n e d 
the f o l l o w i n g p r o v i s i o n : 
"11.3 
Complete 
Agreement. 
T h i s 
agreement 
c o n t a i n s a l l c o v e n a n t s , s t i p u l a t i o n s 
and 
p r o v i s i o n s 
a g r e e d upon between 
[APAC] and 
[ M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ] 
r e l a t i n g 
t o 
[ M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ' s ] Work. No 
p r i o r 
or 
contemporaneous agreement or u n d e r s t a n d i n g w i t h 
any 
employee, 
agent 
or 
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e 
of 
[APAC] 
or 
[ M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ] p e r t a i n i n g t o the same s h a l l 
be 
v a l i d 
or 
of 
any 
f o r c e 
or 
e f f e c t . 
No 
changes, 
amendments or m o d i f i c a t i o n s of t h i s Agreement s h a l l 
be v a l i d or of any 
e f f e c t u n l e s s r e d u c e d t o 
w r i t i n g 
and s i g n e d by the p a r t i e s 
h e r e t o . " 
D u r i n g the term of the 2008 ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t , APAC p a i d 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g 
a p p r o x i m a t e l y $800,000 f o r h a u l i n g s e r v i c e s , 
w h i c h sum 
r e f l e c t e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y $125,000 i n downward f u e l -
15 
1110724 
p r i c e a d j u s t m e n t s . 
The amount APAC p a i d M i l l e r T r u c k i n g 
f o r 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ' s 
h a u l i n g 
s e r v i c e s does not appear t o have 
been based on an h o u r l y r a t e , as r e q u i r e d by the 2009 h i r e d -
t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement, b u t upon M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ' s b i d , 
w h i c h appears t o have been based on m i l e a g e t r a v e l e d by 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g d u r i n g i t s d e l i v e r i e s on b e h a l f of APAC. 
On December 11, 2009, APAC s u b m i t t e d t o the Alabama B o a r d 
of A d j u s t m e n t a c l a i m f o r $147,014.75. 
In the 
c l a i m 
f i l e d 
w i t h the B o a r d of A d j u s t m e n t , APAC s t a t e d : " S t a t e 
a g g r e g a t e 
c o n t r a c t 
f u e l 
a d j u s t m e n t s 
d e d u c t e d 
from 
3 r d 
p a r t y 
h a u l e r 
( M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ) . 
H a u l e r 
i s 
a s k i n g 
f o r 
r e l i e f 
based 
on 
d e d u c t i o n s 
a l r e a d y 
t a k e n . 
( P l e a s e 
see 
a t t a c h e d 
d o c u m e n t a t i o n ) . " 
The " a t t a c h e d d o c u m e n t a t i o n " was a M i c r o s o f t 
Power P o i n t p r e s e n t a t i o n 
c r e a t e d by Ben 
M i l l e r . 
R e y n o l d s ' s 
d e p o s i t i o n 
t e s t i m o n y 
i n d i c a t e s 
t h a t 
the 
amount 
c l a i m e d , 
$147,014.75, "was 
the t o t a l of the f u e l s u r c h a r g e d e d u c t s t h a t 
[APAC] had on the books a t the t i m e . " 
The B o a r d of A d j u s t m e n t 
r e t u r n e d APAC's c l a i m on J a n u a r y 11, 
2010, 
because APAC 
had 
f a i l e d t o i d e n t i f y 
the s t a t e agency t h a t was 
r e s p o n s i b l e f o r 
the 
$147,014.75. 
The 
p a r t i e s 
do 
not 
s t a t e whether APAC 
16 
1110724 
s u p p l i e d 
t h e 
r e q u e s t e d 
i n f o r m a t i o n 
t o 
t h e 
B o a r d 
o f 
A d j u s t m e n t .
2 
On 
June 
4, 
2010, t h e 
M i l l e r 
p l a i n t i f f s 
sued t h e 
d e f e n d a n t s 
a l l e g i n g 
b r e a c h 
o f 
c o n t r a c t , 
s u p p r e s s i o n 
o f 
i n f o r m a t i o n , 
m i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n , 
c o n v e r s i o n , 
and 
u n j u s t 
e n r i c h m e n t . 
On J u l y 26, 2010, t h e d e f e n d a n t s f i l e d a motion 
t o compel 
a r b i t r a t i o n , 
w h i c h t h e c i r c u i t 
c o u r t 
d e n i e d on 
August 30, 2010. The d e f e n d a n t s d i d 
n o t a p p e a l t h e c i r c u i t 
c o u r t ' s o r d e r d e n y i n g t h e i r motion t o compel 
a r b i t r a t i o n . 
On October 5, 2010, t h e d e f e n d a n t s 
f i l e d answers t o 
t h e 
M i l l e r 
p l a i n t i f f s ' 
c o m p l a i n t . 
I n a d d i t i o n , APAC 
f i l e d a 
c o u n t e r c l a i m 
a g a i n s t 
t h e M i l l e r 
p l a i n t i f f s 
r e q u e s t i n g 
a 
judgment d e c l a r i n g t h e p a r t i e s ' " r i g h t s , d u t i e s , s t a t u s and 
l e g a l 
r e l a t i o n s " under t h e 2007 h i r e d - t r u c k agreement, t h e 
2009 h i r e d - t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement, t h e 2007 ADOT-APAC 
c o n t r a c t , and 
t h e 
2008 ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t . APAC a l s o a s s e r t e d 
2On J a n u a r y 4, 2010, 
APAC and M i l l e r T r u c k i n g e n t e r e d 
i n t o 
a "renewable t r u c k i n g agreement" ("the 
2010 renewable t r u c k i n g 
agreement"). 
The f a c t s f o r m i n g t h e b a s i s o f t h i s a p p e a l had 
t r a n s p i r e d b e f o r e t h e p a r t i e s e n t e r e d i n t o t h e 
2010 renewable 
t r u c k i n g 
agreement; 
t h u s , 
t h e 2010 
renewable 
t r u c k i n g 
agreement does n o t appear t o have any r e l e v a n c e 
t o 
t h i s 
a p p e a l . 
17 
1110724 
i n i t s c o u n t e r c l a i m c l a i m s o f b r e a c h o f c o n t r a c t and u n j u s t 
e n r i c h m e n t . 
On May 20, 2011, t h e M i l l e r p l a i n t i f f s 
f i l e d a motion f o r 
a 
p a r t i a l summary judgment, 
a r g u i n g 
t h a t "because 
[ M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ] 
d i d n o t 
c o n t r a c t u a l l y agree 
t o any f u e l - c o s t 
a d j u s t m e n t s p r i o r t o J a n u a r y 4, 2010, t h e [ d ] e f e n d a n t s had no 
p r o p e r l e g a l b a s i s f o r 
i m p o s i n g any f u e l - c o s t a d j u s t m e n t s upon 
[ M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ] 
p r i o r t o J a n u a r y 
4, 2010." 
The 
M i l l e r 
p l a i n t i f f s 
a l s o 
argued 
t h a t 
" [ b ] e c a u s e 
t h e terms o f the 
pre-2010 c o n t r a c t s a r e p l a i n and unambiguous, any q u e s t i o n s 
c o n c e r n i n g 
t h e i r 
c o n s t r u c t i o n and 
l e g a l 
e f f e c t 
upon t h e 
p a r t i e s 
a r e p r o p e r 
i s s u e s 
t o be 
d e c i d e d 
by a 
summary 
judgment." 
On 
October 24, 2011, t h e 
c i r c u i t 
c o u r t 
e n t e r e d t h e 
f o l l o w i n g 
o r d e r : 
"The p a r t i e s a r e r e l i e v e d o f t h e i r 
o b l i g a t i o n 
under t h e s c h e d u l i n g o r d e r t o mediate t h e i r d i s p u t e 
by 
October 
31, 2011. C r o s s - m o t i o n s 
f o r summary 
judgment -- r e f e r a b l e t o t h e c o n t r a c t p r o v i s i o n t h a t 
appears t o be t h e r o a d b l o c k t o e f f o r t s t o r e s o l v e 
t h i s m a t t e r -- a r e t o be f i l e d by November 10, 2011, 
w i t h c r o s s r e s p o n s e s t o be 
f i l e d by November 21, 
2011." 
I t i s u n c l e a r t o w h i c h 
c o n t r a c t p r o v i s i o n , o r even w h i c h 
c o n t r a c t , t h e c i r c u i t c o u r t was r e f e r r i n g i n i t s o r d e r . 
18 
1110724 
On November 10, 2011, t h e d e f e n d a n t s f i l e d a m o t i o n f o r 
a summary j u d g m e n t . 
The 
d e f e n d a n t s argued 
t h a t 
" M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ' s b i d r a t e s and the f u e l - p r i c e a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e [ s ] 
i n 
the 
[20 
07 ADOT-APAC 
c o n t r a c t 
and 
the 
2008 ADOT-APAC 
c o n t r a c t ] governed the manner and method of APAC's payments t o 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g . " The d e f e n d a n t s argued t h a t 
" [ t ] h e 
f u e l - p r i c e 
a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e 
a p p l i e s 
t o 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g because 
( 1 ) the 
[2007 ADOT-APAC 
c o n t r a c t 
and 
the 
2008 ADOT-APAC 
c o n t r a c t 
w e r e ] 
i n c o r p o r a t e d by r e f e r e n c e i n t o the [2007 h i r e d - t r u c k 
agreement], ( 2 ) a c o u r s e of d e a l i n g e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t 
APAC p a i d M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ' s b i d r a t e as m o d i f i e d by 
the f u e l - p r i c e a d j u s t m e n t c l a u s e , and (3) i t cannot 
t a k e the b e n e f i t s of the S t a t e C o n t r a c t , b u t 
r e j e c t 
i t s burdens." 
F o l l o w i n g a h e a r i n g on J a n u a r y 30, 
2012, 
the 
c i r c u i t 
c o u r t e n t e r e d i t s f i n a l judgment on F e b r u a r y 7, 
2012: 
"Pending i n t h i s a c t i o n are c r o s s - m o t i o n s f o r 
summary judgment. The 
[ M i l l e r ] p l a i n t i f f s have 
f i l e d 
a motion 
f o r p a r t i a l summary judgment, 
s e e k i n g a 
d e c l a r a t i o n t h a t 'because 
[ M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ] d i d not 
agree t o any f u e l - c o s t a d j u s t m e n t s p r i o r t o J a n u a r y 
4, 2010, the Defendant had no p r o p e r l e g a l b a s i s f o r 
i m p o s i n g 
any 
f u e l 
c o s t 
a d j u s t m e n t s upon 
[ M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ] p r i o r t o J a n u a r y 4, 2010.' The d e f e n d a n t s ' 
m o t i o n 
a l s o 
seeks 
a 
d e c l a r a t i o n 
o f the 
p a r t i e s ' 
r i g h t s 
and 
o b l i g a t i o n s p u r s u a n t t o the agreement 
t h a t e x i s t e d among the p a r t i e s . 
" I n a d d r e s s i n g the m o t i o n s , the C o u r t c o n f r o n t s 
a 
s i t u a t i o n 
i n w h i c h 
t h e r e e x i s t e d 
an 
agreement 
between 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g , LLC 
and APAC 
Mid-South, 
I n c . 
(or a p r e d e c e s s o r t h e r e o f ) , but the agreement 
19 
1110724 
d i d not c o m p l e t e l y 
d e f i n e the r e l a t i o n s h i p between 
the p a r t i e s , w h i c h r e l a t i o n s h i p was 
d e v e l o p e d over 
the 
c o u r s e of a c o u p l e of y e a r s . 
The 
C o u r t 
f i n d s 
t h a t the c o n t i n u i n g c o u r s e of d e a l i n g s and c o u r s e of 
performance 
d u r i n g 
t h i s 
p e r i o d 
of 
time 
i s 
d e t e r m i n a t i v e 
i n d e f i n i n g the 
p a r t i e s ' r e s p e c t i v e 
r i g h t s and o b l i g a t i o n s . 
" I t 
i s p r o p e r t o examine such 
c i r c u m s t a n c e s , 
w h i c h 
f a l l 
o u t s i d e 
the 
c o n f i n e s 
of 
any 
w r i t t e n 
agreement t h a t might 
e x i s t . 
The 
... 
2007 
[ h i r e d -
t r u c k ] [a]greement c o n t a i n s 
no 
i n t e g r a t i o n c l a u s e . 
The 
... 2009 [ h i r e d - t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n ] [a]greement 
does 
c o n t a i n 
an 
i n t e g r a t i o n 
c l a u s e , 
but 
t h a t 
c o n t r a c t 
does 
not 
a c c u r a t e l y 
d e s c r i b e 
payment 
arrangements, p r o v i d i n g 
o n l y 
t h a t 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
s h a l l submit r e q u e s t s 
f o r payment on ' h o u r l y 
r a t e s 
i n e f f e c t a t the time the work i s p e r f o r m e d . ' W h i l e 
t h a t c o n t r a c t f u r t h e r p r o v i d e s t h a t any m o d i f i c a t i o n 
must be i n w r i t i n g t o be e f f e c t i v e , Alabama law 
has 
h e l d t h a t such language i s e s s e n t i a l l y 
s u r p l u s a g e , 
as 
p a r t i e s 
may 
o r a l l y 
m o d i f y 
even 
a 
c o n t r a c t 
r e q u i r i n g 
t h a t 
any 
m o d i f i c a t i o n 
be 
i n 
w r i t i n g 
(absent 
a 
s t a t u t e 
of 
f r a u d s 
i s s u e ) . See, 
e.g., 
Duncan 
v. 
Rossuck, 
621 
So. 
2d 
1313, 
1315 
( A l a . 
1993). 
I t i s t h e r e f o r e p r o p e r t o 
l o o k beyond 
the 
c o n t r a c t t o a s c e r t a i n how 
the p a r t i e s ' a c t i o n s 
and 
u n d e r s t a n d i n g s have m o d i f i e d 
the w r i t t e n 
c o n t r a c t s 
e x i s t i n g between them. 
" I n d o i n g 
so, the C o u r t r e l i e s on Restatement  
(Second) of C o n t r a c t s 
§ 202 
(1981), which 
p r o v i d e s 
i n p a r t the f o l l o w i n g : 
" ' ( 4 ) . 
Where 
an 
agreement 
i n v o l v e s 
r e p e a t e d 
o c c a s i o n s 
f o r 
performance 
by 
e i t h e r p a r t y w i t h knowledge of the 
n a t u r e 
of 
the 
performance 
and 
o p p o r t u n i t y 
f o r 
o b j e c t i o n t o i t by the o t h e r , any c o u r s e of 
performance 
a c c e p t e d 
or 
a c q u i e s c e d 
i n 
w i t h o u t o b j e c t i o n i s g i v e n g r e a t w e i g h t i n 
the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the agreement. 
20 
1110724 
" ' ( 5 ) . 
Wherever 
r e a s o n a b l e , 
the 
m a n i f e s t a t i o n s o f i n t e n t i o n o f t h e p a r t i e s 
to a promise o r agreement a r e i n t e r p r e t e d 
as c o n s i s t e n t w i t h each o t h e r and w i t h any 
r e l e v a n t c o u r s e o f p e r f o r m a n c e , c o u r s e o f 
d e a l i n g , o r usage o f t r a d e . ' 
" F u r t h e r , 
'[w]hen 
t h e 
p a r t i e s 
t o 
a 
b a r g a i n 
s u f f i c i e n t l y 
d e f i n e d t o be a 
c o n t r a c t 
have not 
a g r e e d w i t h r e s p e c t t o a term w h i c h i s e s s e n t i a l t o 
a d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e i r r i g h t s and d u t i e s , a term 
w h i c h i s 
r e a s o n a b l e i n 
the c i r c u m s t a n c e s i s s u p p l i e d 
by the c o u r t . ' Restatement 
(Second) o f C o n t r a c t s a t 
§ 204. 
"Based on t h e e v i d e n c e p r e s e n t e d by t h e p a r t i e s , 
the 
C o u r t c o n c l u d e s t h a t t h e r e was an u n d e r s t a n d i n g 
t h a t any e f f e c t o f f u e l c o s t a d j u s t m e n t s imposed by 
the 
S t a t e o f Alabama would be p a s s e d on by APAC t o 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g . 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
e n j o y e d 
the 
b e n e f i t s o f such a d j u s t m e n t s d u r i n g t h e f i r s t y e a r 
of i t s 
r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h APAC; i t s h o u l d b e a r t h e 
burden o f t h e a d j u s t m e n t s o c c u r r i n g i n t h e second 
y e a r . 
" A l t e r n a t i v e l y , even i f an e n f o r c e a b l e c o n t r a c t 
cannot p r o p e r l y be found t o a r i s e from t h e f a c t s , 
[ M i l l e r T r u c k i n g i s ] 
e q u i t a b l y e s t o p p e d from d e n y i n g 
b e i n g bound by t h e f u e l a d j u s t m e n t p r o v i s i o n i n 
t h e 
second y e a r o f APAC's arrangement w i t h t h e S t a t e o f 
Alabama, h a v i n g e n j o y e d the f r u i t s o f t h a t p r o v i s i o n 
d u r i n g t h e f i r s t y e a r and h a v i n g worked w i t h APAC 
f o r 
s e v e r a l months d u r i n g 
t h e second 
y e a r 
w i t h 
knowledge o f t h e f u e l a d j u s t m e n t p r o v i s i o n . 
"The 
[ M i l l e r ] 
p l a i n t i f f s ' 
m o t i o n f o r p a r t i a l 
summary judgment i s a c c o r d i n g l y d e n i e d , w h i l e the 
d e f e n d a n t s ' summary judgment m o t i o n i s 
g r a n t e d . 
"With 
t h i s 
r u l i n g , 
the C o u r t d i s m i s s e s [the 
M i l l e r ] 
p l a i n t i f f s ' 
c l a i m s 
i n t h i s 
a c t i o n , 
w i t h 
21 
1110724 
p r e j u d i c e . The 
C o u r t f i n d s i n f a v o r of APAC on i t s 
c o u n t e r c l a i m 
f o r a d e c l a r a t o r y judgment and 
f i n d s 
t h a t 
APAC's 
o t h e r 
c o u n t e r c l a i m s 
need 
not 
be 
a d d r e s s e d . 
T h i s 
o r d e r 
c o n c l u d e s 
t h i s 
l i t i g a t i o n , 
w i t h c o s t s t a x e d as 
p a i d . " 
The 
M i l l e r p l a i n t i f f s a p p e a l e d . 
S t a n d a r d of Review 
Our 
s t a n d a r d 
f o r r e v i e w i n g 
a summary judgment i s w e l l 
s e t t l e d : 
"'The 
s t a n d a r d of r e v i e w a p p l i c a b l e t o a summary 
judgment i s the same as 
the 
s t a n d a r d 
f o r 
g r a n t i n g 
the 
m o t i o n . . . . ' McClendon 
v. 
Mountain 
Top 
Indoor 
 
F l e a Market, I n c . , 601 
So. 
2d 957, 
958 
( A l a . 1992). 
"'A 
summary judgment i s p r o p e r when 
t h e r e i s no genuine i s s u e of m a t e r i a l f a c t 
and 
the 
moving 
p a r t y 
i s 
e n t i t l e d 
t o 
a 
judgment as a m a t t e r of law. R u l e 5 6 ( c ) ( 3 ) , 
A l a . R. C i v . P. The burden i s on the moving 
p a r t y 
t o make a p r i m a f a c i e showing 
t h a t 
t h e r e i s no genuine i s s u e of m a t e r i a l f a c t 
and t h a t i t i s e n t i t l e d t o a judgment as a 
m a t t e r of law. 
In d e t e r m i n i n g 
whether 
the 
movant has 
c a r r i e d t h a t burden, the 
c o u r t 
i s 
t o v i e w the e v i d e n c e 
i n a 
l i g h t most 
f a v o r a b l e 
t o 
the nonmoving p a r t y 
and 
t o 
draw a l l r e a s o n a b l e i n f e r e n c e s i n f a v o r 
of 
t h a t p a r t y . To d e f e a t a p r o p e r l y s u p p o r t e d 
summary 
judgment 
m o t i o n , 
the 
nonmoving 
p a r t y must p r e s e n t " s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e " 
c r e a t i n g a genuine i s s u e of m a t e r i a l 
f a c t 
-- 
" e v i d e n c e 
of such w e i g h t 
and 
q u a l i t y 
t h a t f a i r - m i n d e d p e r s o n s i n the e x e r c i s e of 
i m p a r t i a l judgment can r e a s o n a b l y i n f e r the 
e x i s t e n c e of the f a c t sought t o be p r o v e d . " 
A l a . 
Code 
1975, 
§ 
12-21-12; 
West 
v. 
22 
1110724 
Founders L i f e A s s u r a n c e Co. of F l o r i d a , 54 
7 
So. 2d 870, 871 ( A l a . 1989).' 
" C a p i t a l A l l i a n c e I n s . Co. v. Thorough-Clean, I n c . , 
639 So. 2d 1349, 1350 
( A l a . 1994). Q u e s t i o n s of law 
are r e v i e w e d de novo. Alabama R e p u b l i c a n P a r t y v.  
M c G i n l e y , 893 So. 2d 337, 342 
( A l a . 2004)." 
P r i t c h e t t v. ICN Med. 
A l l i a n c e , 
I n c . , 938 
So. 2d 933, 
935 
( A l a . 2006). 
D i s c u s s i o n 
As s e t f o r t h above, the c i r c u i t c o u r t c o n c l u d e d i n i t s 
f i n a l o r d e r " t h a t t h e r e was an u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t any 
e f f e c t 
of f u e l c o s t a d j u s t m e n t s imposed by [ADOT] would be p a s s e d on 
by APAC t o M i l l e r T r u c k i n g . " 
As the c i r c u i t c o u r t 
r e c o g n i z e d , 
t h e r e 
was 
no 
w r i t t e n agreement between APAC 
and 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t a i n i n g such a p r o v i s i o n . 
I n s t e a d , the 
c i r c u i t 
c o u r t 
c o n c l u d e d 
t h a t , 
based 
on 
the 
p a r t i e s ' 
c o u r s e 
o f 
d e a l i n g s , t h e r e was no genuine i s s u e of m a t e r i a l f a c t as t o 
whether the p a r t i e s had a g r e e d t h a t the e f f e c t of the 2007 
ADOT-APAC f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t c l a u s e and the 2008 ADOT-APAC 
f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e would be p a s s e d on t o 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g by APAC. 
The M i l l e r p l a i n t i f f s argue on a p p e a l t h a t 
t h e r e i s a genuine i s s u e of m a t e r i a l f a c t as t o whether APAC 
23 
1110724 
and M i l l e r T r u c k i n g a c t u a l l y e n t e r e d i n t o such an agreement. 
We agree w i t h t h e M i l l e r 
p l a i n t i f f s . 
F i r s t , 
t h e 2007 
h i r e d - t r u c k 
agreement 
was 
n o t an 
e n f o r c e a b l e c o n t r a c t . I n White Sands Group, L.L.C. v. PRS I I , 
LLC, 998 So. 2d 1042, 1051 ( A l a . 2008) 
, we h e l d t h a t " ' [ t ] o be 
e n f o r c e a b l e , t h e [ e s s e n t i a l ] 
terms o f a c o n t r a c t must be 
s u f f i c i e n t l y d e f i n i t e and c e r t a i n 
( q u o t i n g Brooks v. 
Hackney, 329 N.C. 166, 170, 404 S.E.2d 854,857 (1991)). 
We 
a l s o h e l d i n 
White Sands t h a t "'[a] l a c k o f d e f i n i t e n e s s 
i n 
an 
agreement may concern t h e time o f p e r f o r m a n c e , t h e 
p r i c e t o 
be 
p a i d , 
work t o be done, 
p r o p e r t y 
t o be 
t r a n s f e r r e d , o r 
m i s c e l l a n e o u s 
s t i p u l a t i o n s i n t h e agreement.' 1 R i c h a r d A. 
L o r d , W i l l i s t o n on C o n t r a c t s § 4:21, a t 644 (4th ed. 2007)." 
998 So. 2d a t 1051. The 2007 h i r e d - t r u c k agreement d i d n o t 
c o n t a i n any d e t a i l s c o n c e r n i n g what work M i l l e r T r u c k i n g was 
t o p e r f o r m , when M i l l e r T r u c k i n g was t o p e r f o r m t h e work, o r 
any 
d e t a i l s c o n c e r n i n g t h e p r i c e APAC would pay f o r M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ' s 
s e r v i c e s . 
T h e r e f o r e , 
t h e 2007 
h i r e d - t r u c k 
agreement was n o t an e n f o r c e a b l e agreement. 
APAC and M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g d i d , however, 
e n t e r 
i n t o a 
c o n t r a c t i n 2007 when APAC a c c e p t e d 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ' s b i d 
24 
1110724 
("the 
2007 A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t " ) . 
I n i t s b i d , 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g s p e c i f i e d t h e r a t e s i t 
would charge f o r t h e 
h a u l i n g s e r v i c e s i t 
was t o p e r f o r m f o r 
APAC. 
APAC 
a c c e p t e d 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g ' s b i d , t h e r e b y c r e a t i n g t h e 2007 A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g c o n t r a c t . 
APAC and M i l l e r T r u c k i n g o p e r a t e d under 
the 2007 A P A C - M i l l e r T r u c k i n g c o n t r a c t f o r t h e d u r a t i o n o f 
t h e 
2007 ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t . 
As s e t f o r t h above, i n e a r l y 2008 when f u e l p r i c e s began 
e s c a l a t i n g , 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g approached APAC t o r e q u e s t 
t h a t 
APAC i n c r e a s e t h e p r i c e APAC was p a y i n g M i l l e r T r u c k i n g f o r 
i t s 
h a u l i n g 
s e r v i c e s ; 
t h e p r i c e s APAC was p a y i n g 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g were based on t h e 
b i d 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g had s u b m i t t e d 
t o APAC. 
E s s e n t i a l l y , 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g sought t o m o d i f y t h e 
terms o f t h e 2007 A P A C - M i l l e r T r u c k i n g c o n t r a c t . 
A t M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ' s r e q u e s t , APAC agreed t o pay M i l l e r T r u c k i n g more 
than t h e b i d r a t e , based on t h e e s c a l a t i n g 
f u e l c o s t s . 
Ben 
M i l l e r ' s d e p o s i t i o n t e s t i m o n y t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t APAC d i d n o t 
b e g i n t o pay M i l l e r T r u c k i n g i n c r e a s e d compensation based on 
the r i s i n g c o s t o f f u e l 
u n t i l M i l l e r T r u c k i n g r e q u e s t e d APAC 
do so i s s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e 
t h a t APAC and M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
were not o p e r a t i n g under t h e 2007 ADOT-APAC 
f u e l - p r i c e -
25 
1110724 
a d j u s t m e n t c l a u s e from the o u t s e t o f the 2007 
A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t . 
D u r i n g t h e term o f t h e 2007 ADOT-APAC 
c o n t r a c t , APAC p a i d M i l l e r T r u c k i n g a p p r o x i m a t e l y $1,000,000, 
of which $200,000 was i n c r e a s e d payments based on APAC and 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ' s 
m o d i f i c a t i o n o f t h e 2007 
A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g c o n t r a c t t o t a k e i n t o account t h e e s c a l a t i n g c o s t o f 
f u e l . 
APAC and M i l l e r T r u c k i n g e n t e r e d i n t o a new agreement on 
or about September 3, 2008, when M i l l e r T r u c k i n g s u b m i t t e d a 
b i d t o APAC, w h i c h APAC a c c e p t e d , so t h a t APAC c o u l d , i n t u r n , 
submit 
a b i d t o ADOT 
("the 2008 
A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t " ) . APAC's b i d 
was a c c e p t e d by ADOT, w h i c h formed t h e 
b a s i s o f the 2008 ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t . 
The 2008 A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g c o n t r a c t d i d 
n o t i n c l u d e a p r o v i s i o n f o r f u e l - p r i c e 
a d j u s t m e n t s b u t was based upon s t a t i c f u e l p r i c e s o f $2.50 t o 
$2.70 p e r g a l l o n . 
In December 2008, APAC a s s e s s e d a r e t r o a c t i v e , downward 
f u e l - p r i c e a d j u s t m e n t a g a i n s t M i l l e r T r u c k i n g i n 
t h e amount o f 
$11,001.30; APAC's a u t h o r i t y 
t o a s s e s s a r e t r o a c t i v e , downward 
f u e l - p r i c e a d j u s t m e n t i s t h e p r i m a r y 
i s s u e i n t h i s 
a p p e a l . 
There i s s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e t o i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e 2008 APAC-
26 
1110724 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t 
d i d not i n c l u d e 
a f u e l - p r i c e -
a d j u s t m e n t 
p r o v i s i o n and t h a t 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
i m m e d i a t e l y 
c o n t a c t e d 
APAC 
t o 
o b j e c t 
t o t h e 
downward 
f u e l - p r i c e 
a d j u s t m e n t . 
R e y n o l d s ' s d e p o s i t i o n t e s t i m o n y i n d i c a t e s 
t h a t 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g was unaware t h a t APAC was g o i n g t o a s s e s s 
downward f u e l - p r i c e a d j u s t m e n t s b e f o r e APAC a c t u a l l y d i d so 
i n 
December 2008. R e y n o l d s and 
Ben M i l l e r met i n 
J a n u a r y 2009 t o 
n e g o t i a t e how M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
would be compensated, 
t a k i n g 
i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h e v a r y i n g 
f u e l p r i c e s , from t h a t 
time 
f o r w a r d . 
On J a n u a r y 5, 2009, APAC and M i l l e r T r u c k i n g e n t e r e d 
i n t o 
the 2009 h i r e d - t r u c k 
q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement. 
However, t h e 
2009 h i r e d - t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement s p e c i f i e d t h a t M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g would be p a i d on an h o u r l y b a s i s , w h i c h , d e s p i t e t h e 
c l e a r 
and unambiguous 
language 
i n t h e 2009 
h i r e d - t r u c k 
q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement, has never been t h e p r a c t i c e between 
APAC and M i l l e r T r u c k i n g . 
I t i s u n c l e a r from t h e r e c o r d i f 
Reynolds and Ben M i l l e r ' s e a r l y J a n u a r y 2009 m e e t i n g 
o c c u r r e d 
b e f o r e o r a f t e r APAC and M i l l e r T r u c k i n g e n t e r e d i n t o t h e 2009 
h i r e d - t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement. 
T h e r e f o r e , 
i t i s u n c l e a r 
whether t h e n e g o t i a t i o n s t h a t took p l a c e between Reynolds and 
27 
1110724 
Ben 
M i l l e r a t t h e J a n u a r y 2009 meeting were an e f f o r t t o 
m o d i f y t h e 2008 A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t o r t h e 2009 
h i r e d - t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement. R e g a r d l e s s , as e v i d e n c e d 
by Ben M i l l e r ' s 
F e b r u a r y 7, 2009, e - m a i l t o L a n d r e s s and 
L a n d r e s s ' s F e b r u a r y 9, 2009, e - m a i l 
r e s p o n s e , t h e p a r t i e s 
c o n t i n u e d t o n e g o t i a t e t h e 
compensation M i l l e r T r u c k i n g was 
t o 
r e c e i v e from APAC a f t e r APAC and M i l l e r T r u c k i n g e n t e r e d 
i n t o 
the 2009 h i r e d - t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement. 
We cannot c o n c l u d e , as d i d 
t h e c i r c u i t c o u r t , t h a t t h e r e 
i s no genuine i s s u e o f m a t e r i a l f a c t as t o whether APAC and 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
a g r e e d t h a t t h e 2007 ADOT-APAC 
f u e l - p r i c e -
a d j u s t m e n t c l a u s e and 
t h e 
2008 ADOT-APAC f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e were i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o t h e c o n t r a c t s between APAC and 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g . 
R e y n o l d s ' s 
d e p o s i t i o n 
t e s t i m o n y 
i s 
s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e t h a t APAC was g o i n g t o n e g o t i a t e a d e a l 
w i t h t h e c o u n t i e s r e c e i v i n g t h e a g g r e g a t e m a t e r i a l s p u r s u a n t 
t o w h i c h t h e c o u n t i e s would pay l e s s t h a n t h e 
b i d 
p r i c e , b u t 
more than t h e p r i c e c a l l e d f o r 
by t h e 2008 ADOT-APAC 
f u e l -
p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e . 
T h e r e f o r e , 
t h e r e i s s u b s t a n t i a l 
e v i d e n c e i n 
t h e r e c o r d t h a t APAC and M i l l e r T r u c k i n g d i d n o t 
s i m p l y agree t o i n c o r p o r a t e 
i n t o 
t h e i r agreements t h e 2007 
28 
1110724 
ADOT-APAC f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t c l a u s e and t h e 
2008 ADOT-APAC 
f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e . 
APAC and M i l l e r T r u c k i n g e n t e r e d 
i n t o s e v e r a l c o n t r a c t s 
over t h e p e r i o d 
r e l e v a n t t o t h i s 
a p p e a l . 
APAC 
imposed 
downward f u e l - p r i c e a d j u s t m e n t s d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d s t h e 2008 
A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t 
and t h e 2009 
h i r e d - t r u c k 
q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement 
were i n 
e f f e c t , w h i c h p e r i o d s may have 
o v e r l a p p e d . 
N e i t h e r t h e 2008 A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t 
nor t h e 2009 h i r e d - t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement c o n t a i n e d a 
f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e 
a u t h o r i z i n g APAC 
t o 
a s s e s s 
downward f u e l - p r i c e a d j u s t m e n t s a g a i n s t M i l l e r T r u c k i n g . APAC 
and 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
engaged i n n e g o t i a t i o n s 
a f t e r t h e 
f o r m a t i o n o f t h e 2008 A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t and t h e 
2009 h i r e d - t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement t o m o d i f y t h e terms 
of t h e 2008 A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t and/or t h e 2009 
h i r e d - t r u c k 
q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement t o i n c l u d e a p r o v i s i o n 
a l l o w i n g APAC t o a s s e s s downward f u e l - p r i c e a d j u s t m e n t s . 
As 
e v i d e n c e d by t h e s u b s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e i n 
t h e r e c o r d , APAC and 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g d i d 
n o t agree t o i n c o r p o r a t e t h e 2008 ADOT-
APAC 
f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e 
i n t o 
e i t h e r 
o f 
t h o s e 
agreements b u t n e g o t i a t e d 
t h e i r own 
f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
29 
1110724 
agreement, which m o d i f i e d t h e terms o f t h e 2008 
A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t and/or t h e 2009 h i r e d - t r u c k 
q u a l i f i c a t i o n 
agreement. 
T h e r e f o r e , a genuine i s s u e o f m a t e r i a l f a c t e x i s t s 
as 
t o t h e 
c i r c u i t 
c o u r t ' s 
f i n d i n g 
" t h a t 
t h e r e 
was an 
u n d e r s t a n d i n g 
[between APAC and M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g ] 
t h a t any 
e f f e c t o f f u e l c o s t a d j u s t m e n t s imposed by [ADOT] would be 
p a s s e d on by APAC t o M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g . " 
We a l s o h o l d t h a t t h e r e i s 
a genuine i s s u e o f m a t e r i a l 
f a c t c o n c e r n i n g t h e f i n d i n g s s u p p o r t i n g t h e c i r c u i t 
c o u r t ' s 
a l t e r n a t i v e h o l d i n g . 
The c i r c u i t c o u r t h e l d t h a t 
"even i f 
an e n f o r c e a b l e c o n t r a c t cannot p r o p e r l y be 
found t o a r i s e from t h e f a c t s , 
[ M i l l e r T r u c k i n g i s ] 
e q u i t a b l y e s t o p p e d from d e n y i n g b e i n g bound by t h e 
[2008 f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t c l a u s e ] , h a v i n g e n j o y e d 
the 
f r u i t s 
o f 
[the 2007 
f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e ] 
and h a v i n g 
worked w i t h APAC f o r s e v e r a l 
months d u r i n g t h e second year w i t h knowledge o f 
t h e 
[2008 f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t c l a u s e ] . " 
The c i r c u i t c o u r t d i d 
n o t c o n c l u d e , and no p a r t y has argued, 
t h a t M i l l e r T r u c k i n g was a t h i r d - p a r t y b e n e f i c i a r y o f e i t h e r 
the 2007 ADOT-APAC 
c o n t r a c t o r t h e 2008 ADOT-APAC 
c o n t r a c t 
and, 
t h u s , t h a t M i l l e r T r u c k i n g was r e c e i v i n g t h e b e n e f i t o f 
the 2007 ADOT-APAC f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t 
c l a u s e o r t h e 2008 
ADOT-APAC f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t c l a u s e . 
I n s t e a d , d u r i n g t h e 
term o f t h e 2007 ADOT-APAC 
c o n t r a c t , as s e t f o r t h 
above, 
30 
1110724 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g went t o 
APAC and n e g o t i a t e d a m o d i f i c a t i o n 
t o 
the 
2007 
A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t 
a l l o w i n g 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g t o r e c e i v e i n c r e a s e d payment f o r 
i t s 
h a u l i n g s e r v i c e s 
based on e s c a l a t i n g f u e l c o s t s . 
L i k e w i s e , d u r i n g t h e term o f 
the 
2008 
A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t , APAC and 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
a g a i n 
e n t e r e d 
i n t o 
n e g o t i a t i o n s 
c o n c e r n i n g t h e 
compensation due M i l l e r T r u c k i n g as a r e s u l t o f t h e f a l l i n g 
f u e l p r i c e s . 
M i l l e r T r u c k i n g has never c o n t r a c t e d w i t h ADOT, 
and n o t h i n g i n d i c a t e s t h a t M i l l e r T r u c k i n g was a t h i r d - p a r t y 
b e n e f i c i a r y o f e i t h e r t h e 2007 ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t o r t h e 2008 
ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t . 
R a t h e r , APAC and M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g have 
m a i n t a i n e d t h e i r own c o n t r a c t u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p . 
T h e r e f o r e , t h e 
c i r c u i t 
c o u r t ' s 
c o n c l u s i o n t h a t 
M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
g a i n e d a 
b e n e f i t under t h e 
2007 ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t and, t h e r e f o r e , must 
c a r r y t h e 
burden o f t h e 
2008 ADOT-APAC c o n t r a c t i s 
c o n t r a r y t o 
the f a c t s b e f o r e us. 
T h e r e f o r e , 
we 
r e v e r s e 
t h e 
c i r c u i t 
c o u r t ' s 
summary 
judgment i n f a v o r o f t h e d e f e n d a n t s . 
The M i l l e r 
p l a i n t i f f s p r e s e n t 
s e v e r a l o t h e r arguments; 
however, our d e c i s i o n t o r e v e r s e t h e c i r c u i t c o u r t ' s summary 
31 
1110724 
judgment i n f a v o r o f t h e d e f e n d a n t s p r e t e r m i t s d i s c u s s i o n o f 
those i s s u e s . 
C o n c l u s i o n 
Based on t h e f o r e g o i n g , we r e v e r s e t h e c i r c u i t 
c o u r t ' s 
summary judgment i n f a v o r o f t h e d e f e n d a n t s and remand t h e 
case f o r f u r t h e r p r o c e e d i n g s . 
A genuine i s s u e o f m a t e r i a l 
f a c t 
e x i s t s as t o whether t h e 2008 A P A C - M i l l e r 
T r u c k i n g 
c o n t r a c t and t h e 
2009 h i r e d - t r u c k q u a l i f i c a t i o n agreement were 
m o d i f i e d t o i n c l u d e f u e l - p r i c e - a d j u s t m e n t agreements and, i f 
so, what t h e terms o f those agreements 
a r e . 
REVERSED AND REMANDED. 
Malone, C.J., 
and S t u a r t , Shaw, and Wise, J J . , c o n c u r . 
32