New York-based green coffee trading and roasting company Coffee Holding Co. filed a lawsuit accusing a Texas-based logistics broker of contract and negligence after a coffee shipment worth more than $84,000 went missing.
According to the complaint, filed Jan. 10 in the United States District Court in Eastern New York, the coffee shipment was scheduled to be transported from a Coffee Holding Co. facility in La Junta, Colorado, to a distribution warehouse of United Natural Foods (UNFI) in Centralia, Washington, in February of 2024.
Coffee Holding Co. hired Prosper, Texas-based logistics broker Ryaan Logistics Group, the defendant, to coordinate the shipment, which was scheduled to be picked up by a Florida-based trucking company called AFC Trucking, according to the complaint.
After the coffee load was picked up in Colorado, Ryaan learned that the AFC Trucking driver had actually missed the pickup due to issues with his truck. An investigation by Ryaan determined that the load, which never arrived at its destination, was instead picked up by a driver from a separate company called Maya Transportation, according to the complaint.
Ryaan Logistics did not immediately respond to DCN’s request for comment regarding the lawsuit.
Further investigation determined that the AFC Trucking web system had been hacked, and that the driver who picked up the load falsely claimed to represent AFC.
According to the lawsuit, Ryaan was able to track the shipment to a warehouse in Santa Ana, California, then to another in Montebello, California, before the trail went cold. Ryaan then filed an incident report with the La Junta, Colorado, police.
Accusing Ryaan of breach of contract and negligence regarding the missing coffee load, Coffee Holding Co. is seeking damages of at least $84,491.94, plus legal fees.
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Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
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