Fair Dealership Law

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WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: Thomas F. Benson, et al v. City of Madison

Case No.: 201AP2366

Officials: Kloppenburg, P.J., Lundsten and Sherman, JJ.

Focus: Fair Dealership Law

Many years ago, the City of Madison began contracting with several golf professionals (the “Golf Pros”) to run most operations at City-owned golf courses. At the end of 2012, the City decided to not renew the Golf Pros’ contracts and to use City personnel to run all golf course operations. The Golf Pros sued the City under the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law, alleging that they had dealerships within the meaning of that Law and that the City’s actions violated dealership protections under the Law. The circuit court concluded on summary judgment that the Golf Pros did not have dealerships and, consequently, dismissed their Dealership Law action against the City. The Golf Pros appeal. The parties dispute whether a municipality is subject to the Dealership Law. We need not address that question. We assume, without deciding, that the Dealership Law applies to municipalities, and agree with the circuit court that, regardless, the Golf Pros did not have dealerships. More specifically, we conclude that the Golf Pros’ arrangement with the City, at a minimum, fails to satisfy the second of three statutory elements for the existence of a dealership. Applied here, the second element requires the grant of a right to sell or distribute the City’s goods or services or to use the City’s commercial symbols. We affirm.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.