(a) Plains shall not be liable to Suburban for any loss of or injury to the propane stored by Suburban, however caused, unless such loss or injury results from the failure of Plains or its designee to exercise that degree of care as would be exercised by a reasonably careful Person under like circumstances. Plains is not liable for damages that could not have been avoided solely by the exercise of such care.
(b) SUBURBAN AGREES TO DEFEND, INDEMNIFY AND HOLD PLAINS AND ITS AFFILIATES AND ITS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AGENTS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS HARMLESS FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL CLAIMS TO THE EXTENT SUCH CLAIMS ARISE AS A RESULT OF SUBURBAN’S TRANSPORTATION, STORAGE, USE, OR HANDLING OF PROPANE AFTER DELIVERY OF CUSTODY, POSSESSION AND CONTROL OF SUCH PRODUCT TO SUBURBAN.
(c) EXCEPT FOR AND WITHOUT REGARD TO DAMAGES THAT MAY BE AWARDED TO A THIRD PARTY (SOLELY AS A RESULT OF CONTAMINATION) AGAINST A PARTY TO THIS AGREEMENT (INCLUDING DAMAGES WHICH ARISE IN RESPECT OF ANY INDEMNIFICATION), A PARTY’S LIABILITY FOR A BREACH OF ANY PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE LIMITED TO DIRECT ACTUAL DAMAGES ONLY, EXCLUDING LOST PROFITS, AND SUCH DIRECT ACTUAL DAMAGES SHALL BE THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY HEREUNDER, AND ALL OTHER REMEDIES OR DAMAGES ARE WAIVED. IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER PARTY UNDER ANY PROVISION OF THIS AGREEMENT FOR CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR INDIRECT DAMAGES IN TORT, CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE.
16. Filing of Suit. No action may be maintained by Suburban and any other persons claiming by, through or under Suburban, against Plains for loss of or injury to propane stored in Plains’ Facilities unless such action is commenced within twenty-four (24) Months after (a) Suburban’s propane is redelivered or removed from Plains’ Facilities or (b) Suburban is notified by Plains that loss of or injury to propane has occurred, whichever is shorter. In the situation where Plains notifies Suburban of a loss or, injury to propane, the time limits for the maintaining of actions after notice, as set forth herein, begin on the date such notice is received by Suburban.
17. Force Majeure and Destruction of Facility.
(a) In the event either party is rendered unable, wholly or in part, by Force Majeure to carry out its obligations under this Agreement, it is agreed that upon the affected party’s giving prompt written notice and reasonably full particulars of such Force Majeure in writing to the other party, then the obligations of the party giving such notice, so far as and to the extent that the obligations of the affected party are adversely impacted by such Force Majeure, shall be suspended during the continuance of any inability so caused, but for no longer period, and such cause shall so far as possible be remedied with all reasonable dispatch. The term “Force Majeure” as used herein shall mean acts of God, strikes, lockouts, or other industrial disturbances, acts of the public enemy, acts of terrorism, wars, blockades, insurrections, riots, epidemics, landslides, lightning, earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, or storms, tornado, hurricane, or storm warnings which in any party’s reasonable judgment require the precautionary shutdown of a facility, floods, washouts, arrests or restraints of the government, either federal or state, civil or military, civil disturbances, explosions, sabotage, breakage, or accident to equipment, machinery or lines of pipe, freezing of machinery, equipment or lines of pipe, electric power shortages, inability of any party to obtain necessary permits and/or permissions due to existing or future rules, orders, laws or governmental authorities (both federal, state and local), or any other causes, whether of the kind herein enumerated or otherwise, which are not within the control of the party claiming suspension and which such party is unable to overcome by the exercise of due diligence. It is understood and agreed that the settlement of strikes or lockouts shall be entirely within the discretion of the party having the difficulty, and that the above requirement that any Force Majeure shall be remedied with all reasonable dispatch shall not require the settlement of strikes or lockouts by acceding to the demands of opposing Parties when such course is inadvisable in the discretion of the party having difficulty. The obligation to pay money due shall only be suspended pursuant to
this Section 17 if the party having such obligation has been directly and adversely impacted by such Force Majeure event.
(b) If during the Term, a federal, state or local government entity prohibits operation of the Facilities, or in any way deprive Plains of the right to use the Facilities, including any act of eminent domain, then Plains shall have the right to terminate this Agreement upon thirty (30) days notice. In the event of any such termination, the provisions of the second sentence of Section 3 above shall apply.
(c) Notwithstanding anything herein, Plains shall not be required to rebuild the Facilities or repair the Facilities if it would not be commercially reasonable to do so in Plains’ sole discretion.
18. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Suburban shall not assign or sublet this Agreement in whole or in part without the express written consent of Plains, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed; provided, however, that Plains shall have the right to assign this Agreement to any of its Affiliates, and to any future owner or owners of the Facilities upon prior written notice to Suburban but without the necessity of obtaining from Suburban any consent thereto. Further provided, however, that Suburban shall have the right to assign this Agreement to any of its Affiliates or to the successor to Suburban’s assets or business upon prior written notice to Plains but without the necessity of obtaining from Plains any consent thereto, but any such assignment shall in no way relieve or release Suburban from any obligations hereunder accrued before any such assignment.
19. No Commissions, Fees or Rebates. No director, employee or agent of either party shall give or receive any commission, fee, rebate, gift or entertainment of significant cost or value in connection with this Agreement. Any representative or representative(s) authorized by either party may audit the applicable records of the other party for the purpose of determining whether there has been compliance with this Section.
20. Severability. This Agreement and the transactions hereunder shall be subject to applicable federal and state laws and applicable orders, laws, local ordinances, rules, and regulations of any local, state or federal authority having jurisdiction, but nothing contained herein shall be construed as a waiver of any right to question or contest any such order, laws, rules, or regulations in any forum having jurisdiction in the premises. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be illegal, invalid, or unenforceable under the present or future laws effective during the term of this Agreement, (i) such provision will be fully severable, (ii) this Agreement will be
construed and enforced as if such illegal, invalid, or unenforceable provision had never comprised a part of this Agreement, and (iii) the remaining provisions of this Agreement will remain in full force and effect and will not be affected by the illegal, invalid, or unenforceable provision or by its severance from this Agreement. Furthermore, in lieu of such illegal, invalid, or unenforceable provision, there will be added automatically as a part of this Agreement a provision as similar in terms to such illegal, invalid, or unenforceable provision as may be possible and as may be legal, valid, and enforceable. If a provision of this Agreement is or becomes illegal, invalid, or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, the foregoing event shall not affect the validity or enforceability in that jurisdiction of any other provision of this Agreement nor the validity or enforceability in other jurisdictions of that or any other provision of this Agreement.
21. Governing Law. This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the domestic Laws of the State of South Carolina without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule (whether of the State of South Carolina or any other jurisdiction) that would cause the application of the Laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of South Carolina. The parties agree that any Action pertaining to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, or to enforce any rights given to a Party in this Agreement, shall only be brought in the state courts of the State of South Carolina or in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (if, and only to the extent, otherwise permitted by Law) sitting in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Parties hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts (if, and only to the extent, otherwise permitted by Law).
22. Compliance with Laws. The parties agree to comply in all material respects with all applicable laws, ordinances and regulations, from whatever authority they may emanate, including, but not limited to, Environmental Protection Agency Regulations.
23. Entire Agreement; Waiver. This Agreement, including, without limitation, all exhibits hereto, integrates the entire understanding between the parties with respect to the subject matter covered and supersedes all prior understandings, drafts, discussions, or statements, whether oral or in writing, expressed or implied, dealing with the same subject matter. This Agreement may not be amended or modified in any manner except by a written document signed by an officer of both parties. No waiver by either party hereto of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provision hereof (whether or not similar) nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing waiver unless expressly provided. No waiver shall be effective unless made in writing and signed by the party to be charged with such waiver.
24. Default and Termination. If either party shall fail to materially perform any of the covenants or obligations imposed upon it under and by virtue of this Agreement, then in such event, the other party may, at its option, terminate the Agreement by proceeding as follows: The party not in material default shall cause a written notice to be served on the party in default, stating specifically the cause for terminating the Agreement and declaring it to be the intention of the party giving the notice to terminate the same; thereupon, the party in material default shall have thirty (30) days after the service of the aforesaid notice in which to cure, remedy and remove said cause or causes, in which case such notice shall be withdrawn and the Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. In case the party in material default does not so cure, remedy and remove the breach within said period of thirty (30) days, then the Agreement shall be deemed terminated from and after the expiration of said period. Any termination of this Agreement pursuant to the provisions of this Article shall not be exclusive and shall be without prejudice to the right of the party not in default to collect any amounts then due it and without waiver of any other remedy (at law or equity) to which the party not in default may be entitled for violation of the Agreement. Plains shall have the authority to dispose of Suburban’s propane in storage as of the sixth (6th) Business Day following the effective date of such termination at the then current market price and to remit to Suburban the proceeds of sale, less 1) expenses of such sale and 2) any fees then owing by Suburban to Plains. Plains may at its discretion purchase such propane for its own account at the then current market price.
25. Setoffs and Counterclaims. Each party hereto reserves to itself all rights, set-offs, credits, claims, counterclaims, recoupment and other remedies and/or defenses (collectively, “Set-off”) which it is or may be entitled to arising from or out of this Agreement or as otherwise provided by law. Furthermore, each party hereto, whether performing or non-performing, or breaching or non-breaching, shall be entitled to Set-off (disregarding whether a party breached first or defaulted first) in connection with any payment or in the performance of any obligations under or in connection with this Agreement or termination of this Agreement.
26. Partnership, Association, etc. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed to create an association, trust, partnership, or joint venture between the parties, or impose a trust or partnership duty, obligation, or liability on or with regard to either party.
27. Confidentiality. During the term of this Agreement, Suburban shall maintain the confidentiality of the terms and conditions of Exhibit “A” and will not disclose such to any third party, except independent auditors and Suburban’s attorney who shall be under written obligations of confidentiality with respect to this Agreement, or unless such disclosure is required by Law or by the requirement of any governmental body, including
any court or agency, having jurisdiction over the subject matter described herein.
28. Pipeline Tariff. For so long as this Agreement is in effect, Suburban shall not assert that the tariff rate for transportation on the Pipeline should be lower than the tariff rate in effect on the Business Day immediately preceding the Effective Date, or assist or support any Person who makes such an assertion.
28. Exhibits. All Exhibits attached hereto are incorporated herein by reference as fully as though contained in the body hereof. If any provision of any Exhibit conflicts with the terms and provisions hereof, the provisions of the Exhibits shall prevail.
29. Principles or Construction and Interpretation. In construing this Agreement, the following principles shall be followed:
(a) no consideration shall be given to the fact or presumption that one Party had a greater or lesser hand in drafting this Agreement;
(b) examples shall not be construed to limit, expressly or by implication, the matter they illustrate;
(c) the word “includes” and its syntactical variants mean “includes, but is not limited to” and corresponding syntactical variant expressions; and
(d) the plural shall be deemed to include the singular and vice versa, as applicable.
(e) All parts and exhibits, if any, incorporated herein by reference shall be treated as though contained in the body hereof. If any provision of any part or exhibit hereto conflicts with any provision hereof, the provision of the part or exhibit will prevail.
30. Notice. Any notice or other communication provided for in this Agreement or any notice which either party may desire to give to the other (other than routine business communications) shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been properly given if and when sent by reputable overnight courier with charges paid in accordance with the customary arrangements established by such courier, in each case addressed to the parties at the following addresses; provided, however, that Suburban shall be deemed to have given notice to Plains hereunder even if only one of the Plains recipients listed below receives such communication:
If to Plains:
| Plains LPG Services, L.P. Plains Midstream Plaza Suite 1400 607 – 8th Avenue, S.W., Calgary, AB T2P 0A7, |
| Attention: | Ralph Cross |
| | Vice President, Business Development |
| | |
| And a copy to: |
| | |
| Plains LPG Services, L.P., 333 Clay Street, Suite 1600, Houston, Texas 77002, |
| Attention: | Lawrence J. Dreyfuss |
| | Vice President and General Counsel - |
| | Commercial and Litigation |
| | |
If to Suburban: | Suburban Propane, L.P. 240 Route 10 West P.O. Box 206 Whippany, NJ 07981-206 Attention: Director, Supply Operation |
Any party may change its address by giving notice of such change in accordance herewith.
31. Remedies Cumulative. Unless expressly provided otherwise herein, no remedy herein conferred upon a party is intended, nor shall it be construed, to be exclusive of any other remedy provided herein or as allowed by law or in equity, but all such remedies shall be cumulative.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement effective as of the day and year first above written.
PLAINS LPG SERVICES, L.P. | | | |
By Plains LPG Services GP LLC, its general partner | | | |
By: | /s/ RALPH CROSS
| | | |
Name: | Ralph R. Cross | | | |
Title: | Vice President | | | |
| | | |
SUBURBAN PROPANE, L.P. | | | |
By: | /s/ MICHAEL J. DUNN, JR
| | | |
Name: | Michael J. Dunn, Jr. | | | |
Title: | President | | | |
Exhibits Omitted