Bateman v. Ford Motor Company
Decision Date | 18 April 1962 |
Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 30743. |
Citation | 204 F. Supp. 357 |
Parties | Howard BATEMAN and Marguerite B. Jones, Partners, trading as Ernest Jones Co. v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
Fox, Rothschild, O'Brien & Frankel, Philadelphia, Pa., for plaintiffs.
Dilworth, Paxson, Kalish, Kohn & Dilks, Philadelphia, Pa., for defendant.
This action was brought in this Court for an injunction and damages under the "Dealer's Day in Court Act," 15 U.S.C.A. §§ 1221-1225. Plaintiffs sought to restrain termination of their franchise to sell and service Ford Motor products. Since the agency has been terminated by Ford Motor Company during the pendency of the action, they now seek (in addition to their claim for damages; not presently at issue) to enjoin defendant from refusing to furnish Ford Motor products to them.
The prior opinion and order of this Court, dated January 23, 1962, D.C., 202 F.Supp. 545, held that since the Act provided specific remedies in damages, but none by way of injunction, the statutory remedies were exclusive.
Appeal from that January 23 order is pending in the United States Court of Appeals, No. 13,901. Notice is taken of the fact that an opinion has been rendered in that appeal reversing this Court. In that opinion it was held that this Court has the power to grant supplemental equitable relief, and might utilize such power to keep a dealer's business going while his legal claim is being tested. It is also a matter of notice that the Ford Company, as appellee, has filed a petition for rehearing in that case, No. 13,901.
Despite the pendency of that appeal, the cause was set down for hearing in this Court in response to plaintiffs' assertions of threatened irreparable injury. Testimony was heard on April 13, and the arguments of counsel were concluded April 17th. Having considered the testimony of plaintiffs' witnesses; the arguments and briefs of counsel; and the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law submitted by the parties; this Court is now in position to rule on the matter in response to defendant's motion to dismiss at the close of the testimony offered by plaintiffs.
In its opinion, filed on March 28, 1962, 302 F.2d 63, the United States Court of Appeals said at page 66, with reference to the statute in question:
Plaintiffs allege that the Ford Motor Company has terminated their dealership in Ford Motor Company products in bad faith; that defendant Ford, from and after November, 1958, has failed to act in a fair and equitable manner toward the partnership; has arbitrarily and capriciously increased car quotas; has been guilty of coercion and intimidation; and has harrassed the plaintiffs by threatening to terminate the franchise agreement from time to time.
To express it in less legalistic terms, plaintiffs say that defendant Ford, through its regional sales managers, has used undesirable and discriminatory high-pressure methods in trying to force the plaintiffs to sell many more cars than they can dispose of without recourse to unconscionable sales practices. In the alternative, they suggest that Ford has been trying to force plaintiffs to surrender and sell out the franchise and agency to Ford at an unrealistic price in order that Ford may place the agency in the hands of another dealer of Ford's own choosing.
In addition to providing a remedy in damages for the dealer, the statute provides a defense for the manufacturer, 15 U.S.C.A. § 1222, and a definition of terms in § 1221(e) as follows:
The principal witness was Howard Bateman, one of the plaintiffs and the sole operating partner of the business. Plaintiffs' three other witnesses were Monroe W. Long, a banker; Alvin A. Swenson, Jr., a Ford dealer; and Ernest H. Heydt, a lumber dealer. N.T. pp. 95, 102 and 114 respectively). In addition to the affidavits of the respective parties which are part of the pleadings, the record contains plaintiffs' exhibits P-1 to P-4, inclusive, consisting of the Ford Sales Agreement and three letters addressed to plaintiffs by the Ford Motor Company (N.T. p. 185).
As requested by the Court, plaintiffs have submitted proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. These findings quite naturally restate the allegations of the complaint, and may be suggested by the following excerpts:
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Cecil Corley Motor Co., Inc. v. General Motors Corp.
...Motor Company, 189 F. Supp. 349 (N.D.Cal.1960); (4) a dealer can't secure all the fast moving models he desires, Bateman v. Ford Motor Co., 204 F.Supp. 357 (E.D.Pa.1962); or (5) there are mere delays in deliveries without also a showing of willfulness or arbitrariness, for delays are normal......
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Zebelman v. Chrysler Corporation, 68 C 398(2).
...the merits of Count III at a final hearing. A temporary injunction based upon Count III would be inappropriate. See Bateman v. Ford Motor Co., 204 F.Supp. 357 (E.D.Pa. 1962); and A.F.L. Motors, Inc. v. Chrysler Motors Corp., 183 F.Supp. 56 (E.D.Wis.1960). The same evidence and consideration......
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...(N.D.Ill.1966), vacated as moot, 375 F.2d 773 (7th Cir. 1967); Cf. Bateman v. Ford Motor Co., 302 F.2d 63 (3d Cir. 1962) on remand, 204 F. Supp. 357 (E.D.Pa.), rev'd 310 F.2d 805 (3d Cir.), on remand, 214 F.Supp. 222 (1963). 5 See Madsen v. Chrysler Corp., 261 F. Supp. 488 (N.D.Ill.1966), v......
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Bateman v. Ford Motor Company, 14032.
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