Bains LLC v. ARCO Products Co.

This is a punitive damages case involving nominal compensatory damages brought by a corporation for racial discrimination.

Facts

This case went to trial before a jury, so we state the facts and interpret the evidence most favorably to the party that was successful at trial.

The facts are well laid out in the published decision of the district court. In 1999 an Olympic Pipeline Company petroleum pipeline ruptured, interfering with the transportation of fuel from refineries in Northwest Washington to a distribution center in Seattle. It took two years to fix the pipeline. During that period ARCO hired a number of companies to truck fuel from its Blaine, Washington refinery to the distribution center.

Paul, Gary, and Deep Bains are American citizens who were born in the Punjab region of India. The Bains brothers bought a gas station and convenience store in Okanogan, Washington. They were the first Sikh family in the area. They did business under the name “Flying B,” signifying that the Bains brothers were flying high in the American business world. Flying B soon owned five gas stations and employed thirty people. The brothers bought a tanker truck for about $100,000 and got the…