Mac's Shell Service, Inc., et al. v. Shell Oil Products Co. LLC et al. (559 U.S. 175)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 2, 2010 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 559 U.S. 175 · 130 S. Ct. 1251
- Decided
- March 2, 2010
- Term
- October Term 2009
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Alito
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Alito delivered the opinion of the Court. The Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (PMPA or Act), 92 Stat. 322,15 U. S. C. § 2801 et seq., limits the circumstances in which petroleum franchisors may “terminate” a franchise or “fail to renew” a franchise relationship. §2802. In these consolidated cases, service-station franchisees brought suit under the Act, alleging that a franchisor had constructively “terminate!)!]” their franchises and had constructively “fail[ed] to renew” their franchise relationships. They asserted these claims even though the conduct of which they complained had not compelled any of them to abandon their franchises and even though they had been offered and had accepted renewal agreements. We hold that a franchisee cannot recover for constructive termination under the PMPA if the franchisor’s allegedly wrongful conduct did not compel the franchisee to abandon its franchise. Additionally, we conclude that a franchisee who signs and operates under a renewal agreement with a franchisor may not maintain a claim for constructive nonrenewal. We therefore reverse in part and affirm in part. I A Petroleum refiners and distributors supply motor fuel to the public through service stations that often are operated by independent franchisees. In the typical franchise arrangement, the franchisor leases the service-station premises to the franchisee, grants the…
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