Beltronics, Inc. v. EBERLINE INSTRUMENT CORPORATION

369 F. Supp. 295, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10811, 1974 Trade Cas. (CCH) 75,118
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedDecember 3, 1973
DocketCiv. A. No. C-1598
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 369 F. Supp. 295 (Beltronics, Inc. v. EBERLINE INSTRUMENT CORPORATION) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Beltronics, Inc. v. EBERLINE INSTRUMENT CORPORATION, 369 F. Supp. 295, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10811, 1974 Trade Cas. (CCH) 75,118 (D. Colo. 1973).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER

CHILSON, District Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

This action came on for trial to the Court without a jury on the 12th day of November, 1973, and was concluded on November 26,1973.

The Court after hearing the evidence, the argument of counsel and having received written briefs of the parties, took the case under advisement for the purpose of preparing written Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.

This action arose out of a series of transactions whereby the plaintiff Beltronics and the defendants, Eberline and Capeo, undertook to supply Western Electric with certain devices called “capacitors” and “capacitor eases” for use by the Bell Telephone System.

The issues submitted to the Court for determination can best be defined after setting forth the Findings of Fact. Most of the material facts are not in dispute and in those areas where the material evidence is in conflict, these Findings of Fact reflect the Court’s resolution of those conflicts.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The Bell Telephone system consists of twenty-three operating companies which are subsidiaries of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. (A.T. & T.)

The defendant, Western Electric Company (Western Electric) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of A.T. & T. One of its principle functions is to purchase supplies, equipment, and materials for use in the Bell system.

One of the means of accomplishing this purpose is by supply contracts entered into between Western Electric and suppliers by which a supplier agrees to sell its products to Western Electric, upon order, at stated prices and in accordance with stated specifications to control the quality of the products.

*298 The supply contract by its terms is for a limited period of time and provides no right of renewal by either party, but ordinarily if performance has been satisfactory, and if the price for the product can be agreed upon, the supply contract is renewed or a new supply contract is entered into for another specific period of time.

For some years prior to 1960, the plaintiffs, King and Peterson had sold capacitors manufactured by Goodall Electric Company, to some of the operating companies of the Bell system.

In 1960, Midwec Corporation of Oshkosh, Nebraska, began to manufacture capacitors. Midwec Corporation entered into an Agreement with Midwec Sales Co., a company controlled by King and Peterson, whereby Midwec Sales would act as the exclusive sales representative of Midwec Corporation in the sales of capacitors and capacitor cases. In the name of Midwec Sales, King and Peterson continued to sell capacitors and capacitor cases to the operating companies of the Bell system until 1962.

In 1961, Western Electric advised Midwec Corporation that the magnitude of the sales to the Bell operating companies required the development of specifications for the products and a supply contract with Western Electric.

After tests of the products by the Bell Telephone Laboratory specifications were prepared, tests were made and in March 1962 Midwec Corporation and Western Electric entered into a supply contract. Midwec Sales Company continued to be the exclusive sales representative of Midwec Corporation for the sale of the capacitors until September 1967, when the contract between Midwec Corporation and Midwec Sales Corporation was terminated by mutual agreement.

In 1966, Western Electric expressed to Midwec Sales a desire for a second source of supply of the products to avoid overdependence on Midwec Corporation for a supply of capacitors and cases.

When Midwec Corporation and Midwec Sales terminated their Agreement in 1967, King proposed to Eberline that it manufacture the capacitors and capacitor cases and thereby become the second source of supply of these products to Western Electric.

After lengthy negotiations, a plan was adopted and carried out by which Eberline acquired Capeo, Inc., a Texas Corporation with a plant at Lubbock, Texas, to manufacture the capacitors and capacitor eases and Eberline also acquired all of the stock of Midwec Sales Company (whose name was changed to Beltronics, Inc.) and Beltronics was made the marketing organization. King and Peterson became the principal officers of Beltronies.

Basie to this plan, was the knowledge of the parties that the market for the products was limited almost entirely, if not entirely to Western Electric and that without a supply contract with the Western Electric Company, the venture could not succeed. The plaintiffs, Eberline and Capeo, in entering upon this venture, acted upon the basic assumption that a supply contract with Western Electric would be obtained and maintained. This basic assumption was also implicit in the modification of the venture in January 1969 when the parties modified their original Agreement by the execution of Exhibits A and B referred to later in these Findings.

Once the plan was adopted, Beltronics began negotiations with Western Electric for a supply contract with the expectation that such a contract would be executed by May 1, 1968. Due to the failure of one of the products to meet the tests required by Western Electric, and due to some confusion at Western Electric of the relationship of Beltronics, Eberline, and Capeo to each other and which entity should be the contracting party, the Eberline contract was not executed until August 1968. Eberline was the contracting party and the contract expired by its terms on April 30, 1969.

*299 Upon the execution of the supply contract, Capeo produced the products and Beltronics took charge of the marketing of the products under the supply contract.

In the course of time, Eberline became dissatisfied with the expense incurred by Beltronics and desired to shift the burden of the sales expense to those doing the selling. As a result of negotiations had in December 1968, King and Peterson agreed to purchase from Eberline all of the Beltronics stock for certain considerations including an agreement by Eberline and Capeo that for a period of five years, and an option for a five-year extension, Beltronics would be the exclusive sales representative for the sale of the capacitors and capacitor cases to the telephone industry and would receive a commission of 15% on such sales. In January 1969, written agreements to effect these modifications of the original plan were executed. (Exhibits A and B.)

In its capacity as exclusive sales representative, Beltronics through its President, Mr. King, pursued negotiations for a new supply contract with Western Electric to become effective May 1, 1969, when the then existing supply contract expired.

In late February 1969 at the request of Western Electric, Beltronics submitted a new price quotation for a supply contract for the period from May 1, 1969, to May 1, 1970. Not having heard from Western Electric after the submission of this quotation, King in early April, went to New York to inquire about the new supply contract. On April 2, he was informed by Mr. Tubman of Western Electric, that the supply contract would not be renewed.

King immediately appealed to Mr. Tubman’s superior, Mr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Levin v. Kuhn Loeb & Co.
417 A.2d 79 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1980)
Rothermel v. International Paper Co.
394 A.2d 860 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1978)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
369 F. Supp. 295, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10811, 1974 Trade Cas. (CCH) 75,118, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/beltronics-inc-v-eberline-instrument-corporation-cod-1973.