Litigation
Where’s My Beer?
An exclusive territorial distributor of a well known beer had entered into an agreement that provided that its rights could be terminated at will and without compensation. When the brewer purported to terminate the distributorship and assign the rights to a competing distributorship, we brought suit on behalf of the distributor in the state court, claiming that the agreement had been obtained by fraud. We relied upon the defendants’ correspondence, and correspondence of defendants’ attorney, to show that the distributor had been tricked into believing – contrary to fact – that all of the brewer’s distributors in Pennsylvania had agreed to identical reductions of their franchise rights under the Pennsylvania Liquor Code. During the presentation of our case on emergency motion for preliminary injunction, defendants agreed to the entry of a preliminary injunction. After discovery, the brewer agreed to settle the matter by purchasing the distributor’s distribution rights. Price terms are confidential.