DeTreville v. Outboard Marine Corporation
| Decision Date | 25 March 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 15153.,15153. |
| Parties | B. E. deTREVILLE, Jr., d/b/a the Sports Center, Appellant, v. OUTBOARD MARINE CORPORATION, Evinrude Motors Division, Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
Carl C. Hendricks, Jr., Beaufort, S. C. (John W. Hendrix, Savannah, Ga., on the brief), for appellant.
William M. Bowen, Beaufort, S. C. (Dowling, Dowling, Sanders & Dukes, P. A., Beaufort, S. C., on the brief), for appellee.
Before HAYNSWORTH, Chief Judge, BRYAN, Circuit Judge, and MERHIGE, District Judge.
The plaintiff appeals from the granting of summary judgment for the defendant in his action for wrongful termination of a dealer franchise agreement. Because judgment was granted on the basis of misapprehension of the requirements of the plaintiff's cause of action, we must reverse.
The complaint alleged that deTreville had been a franchised Evinrude dealer for some nine years under annual dealership contracts, the most recent renewal of which had occurred in September, 1968. It alleged that throughout the franchise period deTreville had faithfully performed his obligations, had built up a substantial clientele and had invested heavily in Evinrude equipment, replacement and repair parts and service facilities and tools. It further alleged that on November 26, 1968 the defendant, arbitrarily and without cause, terminated the agreement and awarded the franchise to a competitor, refusing to repurchase the plaintiff's stock of supplies and equipment and otherwise causing material damage to his business and reputation.
The franchise agreement contains in express terms a right in either party to terminate the agreement without cause upon thirty days' notice. The district court, holding that this provision provided a complete defense in the absence of fraud or duress, granted summary judgment on the plaintiff's failure to specify any fraudulent act of the defendant or its agents in the termination of the agreement.
Although some states may give full effect to broad unilateral powers of termination,1 South Carolina, whose law governs here, does not. It is settled law in that state that regardless of broad unilateral termination powers, the party who terminates a contract commits an actionable wrong if the manner of termination is contrary to equity and good conscience. Philadelphia Storage Battery Co. v. Mutual Tire Stores, 161 S.C. 487, 159 S.E. 825; Gaines W. Harrison &...
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