Opinion ID: 1612232
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 33

Heading: If Completed, Would Sutherland Plant Have Operated as Designed?

Text: There was undisputed evidence at trial that the short steep and torula reactor technology which the Sutherland plant was designed to utilize had not previously been employed in the commercial production of ethanol and related byproducts. It is also true, however, that there was no evidence categorically establishing that the technology would not work. Watson, who developed and holds a patent on the short steep process, testified that it is a variation of the general wet milling process which is utilized to produce ethanol from corn. Based upon his knowledge of the process and his inspection of the partially completed Sutherland plant in November 1997, Watson expressed his opinion that the plant would operate as designed, utilizing the short steep process. Katzen, a consulting engineer with experience in the construction of ethanol plants, testified that in his opinion, the Sutherland plant, including its short steep components, was constructed in accordance with industry standards and that the torula yeast reactor incorporated in the design would work. The record also contains evidence that Roles was aware that the plant would utilize the novel technology but was nevertheless confident it would operate as designed. In late 1990, when the Ethanol Authority questioned whether the short steep technology would work, Roles observed the operation of a pilot plant constructed by Shepherd and expressed satisfaction that the process would work. At that point, Roles had invested less than $1 million in the project. When the Ethanol Authority decided that it would not fund the construction of the plant, in part because of its continuing concern about the untested technology, Roles proposed to fund the entire cost of construction himself if the Ethanol Authority would agree to invest in the completed plant upon receipt of evidence that it would operate as designed. Thereafter, Roles invested more than $12 million in the project before discontinuing the funding in 1993, prior to completion of the plant. When Roles attempted to sell the uncompleted plant to an interested party in late 1993 and early 1994 for a price exceeding $18 million, he produced data reflecting the plant's anticipated production and expressed no reservations about its ability to function as designed. We conclude that this evidence formed a sufficient basis for Raasch's assumption that if completed, the plant would have functioned as designed. We acknowledge that there is other evidence in the record which could lead to a contrary inference. However, such evidence goes to the weight and credibility of the expert opinion which is to be determined by the jury.