[H.R. 612, 94th Cong., 1st sess., introduced by Mr. Litton on January 14, 1975; H.R. 688, 94th Cong., 1st sess., introduced by Mr. Murphy of New York on January 14, 1975; H.R. 1254, 94th Cong., 1st sess., introduced by Mr. Conte on January 14, 1975; H.R. 2440, 94th Cong., 1st sess., introduced by Mr. Forsythe on January 30, 1975; H.R. 3322, 94th Cong., 1st sess., introduced by Mr. Litton (for himself, Mr. McCloskey, Mr. Rees, Ms. Schroeder, Mr. Addabbo, Mr. LaFalce, Mr. McCormack, Ms. Holtzman, Mr. Harrington, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Krebs, Mr. Lent, Mr. Charles Wilson of Texas, Mr. Ford of Tennessee, Mr. Anderson of Illinois, Mrs. Spellman, Mr. Moorhead of California, Ms. Abzug, Mr. Beard of Rhode Island, Mr. Gude, Mr. Gaydos, Mr. Mitchell of Maryland, Mr. Burgener, Mr. Downey, and Mr. Stokes) on February 19, 1975; H.R. 3323, 94th Cong., 1st sess., introduced by Mr. Litton (for himself, Mr. Steiger of Wisconsin, Mr. Roe, Mr. Roncalio, Mr. AuCoin, Mr. Evans of Indiana, Mr. McKinney, Mr. Murtha, Mr. Simon, Mr. Fascell, Mr. Hays of Ohio, Mr. Corman, Mr. Richmond, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Stark, Mr. Edwards of California, Mr. Eilberg, Mrs. Boggs, Mr. Studds, Mr. Hechler of West Virginia, Mr. Zeferetti, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Fraser, Mr. Ketchum, and Mr. Coughlin) on February 19, 1975; H.R. 3324, 94th Cong., 1st sess., introduced by Mr. Litton (for himself, Mr. Biester, Mr. Peyser, Mr. Neal, Mr. Sarasin, and Mr. Jeffords) on February 19, 1975; H.R. 3339, 94th Cong., 1st sess., introduced by Mr. Robinson on February 19, 1975; H.R. 10539, 94th Cong., 1st sess., introduced by Mr. Litton (for himself and Mr. H.R. 10840, 94th Cong., 1st sess., introduced by Mr. Rhodes on November 19, 1975; and H.R. 11709, 94th Cong., 2d sess., introduced by Mr. Litton (for himself and Mr. Howard) on February 4, 1976; are identical as follows:] A BILL To provide for protection of franchised dealers in petroleum products. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That as used in this Act: 4 (1) The term "distributor" means a person engaged in 5 the sale, consignment, or distribution of petroleum products 6 to wholesale or retail outlets whether or not it owns, leases, or in any way controls such outlets. 7 8 9 (2) The term "franchise" means any agreement or con tract between a refiner or a distributor and a retailer or be10 tween a refiner and a distributor, under which such retailer 11 or distributor is granted authority to use a trademark, trade 79-674 O-77-3 2 1 name, service mark, or other identifying symbol or name 2 owned by such refiner or distributor, or any agreement or 3 contract between such parties under which such retailer or 4 distributor is granted authority to occupy premises owned, 5 leased, or in any way controlled by a party to such agree6 ment or contract, for the purpose of engaging in the dis7 tribution or sale of petroleum products for purposes other 8 than resale. 9 (3) The term "refiner" means a person engaged in the 10 refining or importing of petroleum products. 11 (4) The term "retailer" means a person engaged in the 12 sale of any refined petroleum product for purposes other 13 than resale within any State, either under a franchise or in14 dependent of any franchise, or who was so engaged at any 15 time after the start of the base period. 16 (5) The term "State" includes the District of Columbia, 17 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories and 18 possessions of the United States. 19 SEC. 2. (a) (1) A refiner or distributor shall not cancel, 20 fail to renew, or otherwise terminate a franchise unless he 21 furnishes prior notification pursuant to this paragraph to 22 cach distributor or retailer affected thereby. Such notifi23 cation shall be in writing and sent to such distributor or 24 retailer by certified mail not less than ninety days prior to 25 the date on which such franchise will be canceled, not re 3 16 1 newed, or otherwise terminated. Such notification shall con2 tain a statement of intention to cancel, not renew, or to 3 terminate together with the reasons therefor, the date on 4 which such action shall take effect, and a statement of the 5 remedy or remedies available to such distributor or retailer 6 under this Act together with a summary of the applicable 7 provisions of this Act. 8 (2) A refiner or distributor shall not cancel, fail to 9 renew, or otherwise terminate a franchise unless the retailer 10 or distributor whose franchise is terminated failed to comply 11 substantially with any essential and reasonable requirement 12 of such franchise or failed to act in good faith in carrying 13 out the terms of such franchise, or unless such refiner or dis14 tributor withdraws entirely from the sale of refined petroleum 15 products in commerce for sale other than resale in all States. (b) (1) If a refiner or distributor engages in conduct 17 prohibited under subsection (a) of this section, a retailer 18 or a distributor may maintain a suit against such refiner 19 or distributor. A retailer may maintain such suit against a 20 distributor or a refiner whose actions affect commerce and 21 whose products with respect to conduct prohibited under 22 paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of this section, he 23 sells or has sold, directly or indirectly, under a franchise. A 24 distributor may maintain such suit against a refiner whose 25 actions affect commerce and whose products he purchases or 4 1 has purchased or whose products he distributes or has dis2 tributed to retailers. 3 (2) The court shall grant such equitable relief as is 4 necessary to remedy the effects of conduct prohibited under 5 subsection (a) of this section which it finds to exist including 6 declaratory judgment and mandatory or prohibitive injunc7 tive relief. The court may grant interim equitable relief, and 8 actual and punitive damages (except for actions for a fail9 ure to renew) where indicated, in suits under this section, 10 and may, unless such suit is frivolous, direct that costs, in11 cluding reasonable attorney and expert witness fees, be paid 1 12 by the defendant. In the case of actions for a failure to renew 13 damages shall be limited to actual damages including the 14 value of the dealer's equity. 15 (3) A suit under this section may be brought in the 16 district court of the United States for any judicial district in 17 which the distributor or the refiner against whom such suit 18 19 is maintained resides, is found, or is doing business, without regard to the amount in controversy. |