CONSTRUCTION CRANE AND TRACTOR, INC. v. WIRTGEN AMERICA, INC. (Tenn. Ct. App. March 25, 2010)
Distributor of road construction equipment sought an injunction and declaratory judgment against the manufacturer of such equipment following the manufacturer's termination of its sales and service agreement with the distributor without cause in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Distributor asserted that such termination violated the Tennessee Dealer Protection Act, Tenn. Code Ann. section 47-25-1301 et seq.
The trial court found that the statutory provision prohibiting manufacturers from terminating a dealer's relationship with the manufacturer without cause was inapplicable to the parties because the operative agreement between the parties pre-dated the 1999 amendments to the Tennessee Dealer Protection Act prohibiting such terminations. Distributor appeals. Finding no error, we affirm.
Opinion may be found at:
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2010/wirtgenamerica_032510.pdf
