A "cost-of-production" price dispute emerged for ethanol supplied to a gasoline retailer within the context of the United States Government Renewable Fuel Standard. As the ethanol market matured and prices settled, the original formula was challenged as an inaccurate reflection of costs. Baker & O'Brien investigated the comprehensive ethanol plant production costs, products, and revenues, and provided an opinion to the arbitrators.

This article pertains to the basis for a business interruption insurance claim for a sugar cane mill that sustained production losses after an explosion and fire. We applied our process operations expertise to understand the basis of the claim as it pertained to sugar cane harvesting, mill operations, capacity utilization, reliability, operating costs, and bagasse utilization. Our expert report-used by the parties in subsequent negotiations-addressed the key point of whether damages had been remediated in an appropriate and timely manner.