law (legal environment of business)
sbatniji
law_6.docxWeek 6
6-The Garden City Boxing Club held exclusive sat-ellite licensing rights for a live broadcast of a boxing match between Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas. Luis Dominguez owned Antenas Enterprises, the installer of a satellite account at Mundelein Burrito restaurant. However, Antenas listed Mundelein Burrito as a residence instead of a commercial location. A commercial establishment could show the boxing match only if it was contrac-tually authorized by GCB to do so and if it paid the appropriate fee of $ 20 times the maximum fire code occupancy of the establishment. Mundelein Burrito showed the event to its patrons. However, because Mundelein Burrito was classified as a residence, it did not pay the proper fee for a commercial estab-lishment. The Garden City Boxing Club filed suit against Dominguez, the sole proprietor of Antenas, to collect the lost fees from the boxing match. As a sole proprietor, should Dominguez be held personally liable for Antenas Enterprises’ actions? [ Garden City Boxing Club, Inc. v. Luis Dominguez, 2006 U. S. Dist. LEXIS 38184 ( 2006).]
7-Chic Miller operated a General Motors ( GM) franchise car dealership. His written franchise agreement with GM stipulated that Miller had to maintain a floor- plan financing agreement with a lender to enable him to buy new cars from GM. Initially, Miller maintained a line of credit with a GM affiliate ( GMAC), but he terminated the agree-ment because he felt that GMAC charged him an exorbitant interest rate. Miller was able to find another line of credit from Chase Manhattan Bank, but Chase withdrew its financing agreement with Miller after one year. Miller attempted to resume the agreement with GMAC, but GMAC refused. Miller alleged ipse dixit ( an assertion without evi-dence) that GMAC discouraged other lenders from providing a line of credit to Miller. GM then noti-fied Miller that it was terminating its franchise relationship with him because he failed to satisfy the financing stipulation of the written franchise agreement. Two months after receiving this notice from GM, Miller attempted to sell his franchise to Kenneth Crowley, the owner of another car deal-ership. GM rejected this sale, alleging that Miller no longer had a franchise to sell because GM had terminated the franchise agreement two months earlier. Miller sued GM for failing to help his fran-chise obtain floor- plan financing and for rejecting the sale of his franchise to Crowley. How do you think the court ruled in this case? What require-ments must GM meet to lawfully terminate a fran-chise? Did GM meet those requirements? [ Chic Miller’s Chevrolet, Inc. v. GMC, 352 F. Supp. 2d 251 ( 2005).]
9-Richard Hunley, Nada Tas, Joseph Tas, and Kenneth Brown all became general partners of Parham- Woodman between 1986 and 1987. In 1985, Citizens Bank of Massachusetts loaned Parham- Woodman $ 2 million for the construction of a new office facility. When Parham- Woodman stopped making payments on the loan, the bank sold the building and sued the firm and the partners to recover the debt not paid. The partners argued that they were not liable for the debt because they had joined the firm after the loan agreement was made. Do you agree with them? Why or why not? [ Citizens Bank of Massachusetts v. Parham- Woodman Medical Associates, 874 F. Supp. 705 ( 1995).]
