Krone North America and Northeast Farm Sales and Service, a single-store Kioti and LS Tractor dealer based in Irasburg, Vt., recently resolved a lawsuit centered around alleged agreement violates, according to a Jan. 30 report from Foley & Lardner.
Northeast Farm Sales and Service had alleged Krone violated a dealership agreement and a related security agreement when it attempted to terminate the relationship due to Northeast Farm’s “habitual late payments” and a “recent Sold Out of Trust (SOT) situation.”
"Northeast Farm filed suit in Vermont state court claiming that Krone tried to escape the parties’ agreements on false pretenses and enter a new dealership agreement with a competitor. Northeast Farm alleged those acts amounted to breach of contract, bad faith, and violations of provisions in the Vermont Consumer Protection Act (VCPA) and violations of two sections of the Vermont Machinery Dealership Protection Law (VMDPL)," the report said.
"The court, though, dismissed the VCPA claims because only 'consumers' have standing to bring such claims. Northeast Farm is a seller of farm equipment. The court also dismissed the second VMDPL claim pertaining to prohibitions of limitations on dealers’ geographic selling and delivery areas. The contractual provision at issue in the parties’ agreements limited only the number and location of business locations Northeast Farm could open or in which it could sell Krone products. It did not affect where Northeast Farm could sell or deliver Krone products."
After these dismissals, court records indicated the parties had resolved the lawsuit.
