Dive Brief:
- Casey’s General Stores has been accused of participating in an illegal scheme by refusing service from one of its largest fuel servicers and distributors, according to a lawsuit filed this week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
- Fuel servicer and distributor JF Acquisitions is suing competitors Seneca Companies, Owl Services and Trive Capital Management for scheming to monopolize the Iowa and Southern Illinois markets. JF claims that these companies forged an illegal agreement with Casey’s so the c-store retailer would boycott JF’s fuel services in these regions.
- JF claims that this scheme has caused it to lose millions in revenue and profits. JF is seeking damages stemming from the “tortious interference” with its business relationship with Casey’s in Iowa and Southern Illinois.
Dive Insight:
JF was one of Casey’s largest fuel servicers and distributors by the time the fuel servicer entered the Iowa and Southern Illinois markets in 2024, according to the lawsuit. The company said that it invested millions into entering these regions with the expectation that it “could compete on the merits to distribute and service fuel dispensers to Casey’s.”
But once it arrived in these markets, JF noticed that the rate at which Casey’s sought its services “paled in comparison to the volume of business [it] receives from Casey’s elsewhere in the country.”
JF also claims that when Casey’s was left without a distributor of Gilbarco Veeder Root fueling products last year, instead of relying on JF as it had done in other areas, the retailer began to acquire this equipment directly from Gilbarco. As a result, JF lost its ability to sell fuel dispensing equipment to Casey’s not only in Iowa and Southern Illinois, but nationwide, according to the lawsuit.
JF concluded that Trive, which owns both Owl and Seneca, sought to exclude JF from the Iowa and Southern Illinois markets and pressured Casey’s to refuse to do business with JF in these regions “unless absolutely necessary,” according to the lawsuit.
“The only plausible explanation for Casey’s near refusal to deal with JF is that Seneca, OWL Services, and Trive have secured an unlawful agreement from Casey’s to that end,” an attorney representing JF said in the lawsuit.
JF also claims that J.C. Risewick, chief strategy officer of Owl and former president of Seneca, is “a close personal friend of Darren Rebelez, chairman and CEO of Casey’s,” according to the lawsuit. JF claims that Casey’s shared “competitively sensitive information” with Seneca before that company was acquired by Owl, furthering JF’s speculation that the scheme was being planned.
“While Seneca may have a legitimate reason to meet with Casey’s as a former customer, there is no legitimate business reason for a representative of Trive, Seneca’s private equity owner, to meet with individuals from Casey’s — except in furtherance of Defendants’ scheme,” JF’s attorney said in the lawsuit.
A spokesperson from Casey’s did not respond by press time to comment on the accusations against Casey’s.
