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Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Violation

By: Derek Hawkins//December 2, 2019//

Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Violation

By: Derek Hawkins//December 2, 2019//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: PMT Machinery Sales, Inc. v. Yama Seiki USA, Inc.,

Case No.: 18-3484

Officials: KANNE, HAMILTON, and BARRETT, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Violation

A company that enters a dealership agreement with a manufacturer takes a risk. Investing in the sale of the manufacturer’s products may generate significant profits. But if a manufacturer pulls out, a dealer who has made that investment may be left high and dry. To give dealers some protection, the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law makes it difficult for manufacturers to simply walk away. If a manufacturer terminates, substantially changes, or fails to renew a dealership agreement without good cause, the statute entitles the dealer to relief.

PMT Machinery Sales sued Yama Seiki for violating this statute. According to PMT, it had an exclusive-dealership arrangement with Yama Seiki, which the latter breached by using other companies to promote the sale of its machines. Yet PMT has failed to show that it had any dealership agreement with Yama Seiki, much less an exclusive one. To qualify as a dealership under the statute, PMT must have either possessed the right to sell or distribute Yama Seiki’s products or made more than de minimis use of Yama Seiki’s corporate symbols. But PMT never stocked any of Yama Seiki’s products, collected money for their sale, or made more than de minimis use of Yama Seiki’s logos. Because no reasonable jury could render a verdict in PMT’s favor, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Yama Seiki.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.

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