Larry Hobbs Farm Equipment, Inc. v. CNH America, LLC

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas accepted certification of three questions concerning the Arkansas Farm Equipment Retailer Franchise Protection Act. The questions address whether product or trademark withdrawal constitutes good cause for franchise termination, whether rebranding creates statutory liability, and whether the statute provides remedies beyond inventory repurchase, damages, costs, and attorney fees.

Holdings

1. The Arkansas Supreme Court accepted certification of the three questions because the certified questions concerned Arkansas law that could be determinative of the federal proceeding and appeared to lack controlling precedent in Arkansas Supreme Court decisions.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the market withdrawal of a product, trademark, or trade name constitutes good cause to terminate a franchise under Arkansas Code Annotated section 4-72-204(a)(1).
2. Whether Arkansas Code Annotated section 4-72-310(b)(4) creates liability when a manufacturer terminates, cancels, fails to renew, or substantially changes dealership-agreement competitive circumstances because of product rebranding or discontinuation of a particular trade name or trademark while continuing to sell the product under another name or trademark.
3. Whether the remedies for violating the Arkansas Farm Equipment Retailer Franchise Protection Act are limited to inventory repurchase for termination without good cause and damages, costs, and attorney's fees resulting from failure to repurchase inventory under Arkansas Code Annotated section 4-72-309, or whether additional remedies are available.

Disposition

other