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

• Decision Date: 18 September 2008
• Docket Number: No. 08-1056.,08-1056.
• Citation: 374 Ark. 268,287 S.W.3d 550
• Parties: LARRY HOBBS FARM EQUIPMENT, INC., d/b/a Hobbs Farm Implement and Hobbs Farm Equipment, Appellant, v. CNH AMERICA, LLC, d/b/a Case IH, Successor in Interest to DMI, Inc., Appellee.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

287 S.W.3d 550

374 Ark. 268

LARRY HOBBS FARM EQUIPMENT, INC., d/b/a Hobbs Farm Implement and Hobbs Farm Equipment, Appellant, v. CNH AMERICA, LLC, d/b/a Case IH, Successor in Interest to DMI, Inc., Appellee.

No. 08-1056.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

September 18, 2008.

Request to Certify Questions of Law from the United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas, No. 2:08CV00049 JLH.

PER CURIAM.

In accordance with section 2(D)(3) of Amendment 80 to the Arkansas Constitution and Rule 6-8 of the Rules of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals of the State of Arkansas, Judge J. Leon Holmes of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas filed a certifying order with our clerk on September 8, 2007. The certifying court requests that we answer three questions of Arkansas law that may be determinative of a cause now pending in the certifying court, and it appears to the certifying court that there is no controlling precedent in the decisions of the Arkansas Supreme Court. The questions involve Arkansas Code Annotated sections 4-72-204(a)(1), 4-72-310(B)(4), and 4-72-309.

After a review of the certifying court's explanation of the need for this court to answer the questions of law presently pending in that court, we accept certification of the following three questions:

1. Under the facts of this case, whether the market withdrawal of a product or of a trademark and trade name for the product constitutes "good cause" to terminate a franchise under Arkansas Code Annotated section 4-72-204(a)(1).

2. Under the facts of this case, whether liability under Arkansas Code Annotated section 4-72-310(b)(4) is created when a manufacturer terminates, cancels, fails to renew, or substantially changes the competitive circumstances of the dealership agreement based on re-branding of the product or ceasing to use a particular trade name or trademark for a product while selling it under a different trade name or trademark.

3. Under the facts of this case, whether the sole remedies for a violation of the Arkansas Farm Equipment Retailer Franchise Protection Act are: (1) the requirement that the manufacturer repurchase inventory for a termination without good cause, and (2) damages, costs, and attorneys' fees that result from the failure to repurchase inventory as provided in Arkansas Code Annotated section 4-72-309, or whether other remedies are also available.

This per curiam order constitutes notice of our acceptance of the certification of the questions of law. For purposes of the pending proceeding in the supreme court, the following requirements are imposed:

A. Time limits under Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 4-4 will be calculated from the date of this per curiam order accepting certification. The plaintiff in the underlying action, Larry Hobbs Farm Equipment, Inc., is designated the moving party and will be denoted as the "Petitioner," and its brief is due thirty days from the date of this per curiam; the defendant, CNH America, LLC, shall be denoted as the "Respondent,"...