Marin Tug & Barge, Inc. v. Westport Petroleum, Inc.

271 F.3d 825 (9th Cir. 2001) MARIN TUG & BARGE, INC., AS OWNER OF THE BARGE MARIN TENOR, PLAINTIFF, AND JEFFREY L. MUDGETT; SUSAN MUDGETT, PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS v. WESTPORT PETROLEUM, INC.; SHELL OIL PRODUCTS COMPANY, DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES No. 99-17154 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT Argued and Submitted September 13, 2000 Filed November 14, 2001 Jeff Mudgett, Gig Harbor, Washington, for the real parties in interest and the plaintiffs-appellants. Michael K. Johnson, Lewis, D'Amato, Brisbois & Bisgaard, San Francisco, California, for the defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California; Claudia Wilken, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-96-04313-CW Before: Graber, Fisher and Berzon, Circuit Judges. Berzon, Circuit Judge 1 Jeffrey and Susan Mudgett (the "Mudgetts") appeal the district court's grant of summary judgment against them in their action for intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. We affirm. I. Background 2 At the time the events underlying this case occurred, the Mudgetts were the owners and operators of Marin Tug and Barge, Inc., a small barge company that…