Gates v. P. F. Collier, Inc.

256 F. Supp. 204, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9891
CourtDistrict Court, D. Hawaii
DecidedJuly 8, 1966
DocketCiv. No. 2295
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 256 F. Supp. 204 (Gates v. P. F. Collier, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Hawaii primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gates v. P. F. Collier, Inc., 256 F. Supp. 204, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9891 (D. Haw. 1966).

Opinion

AMENDED DECISION

PENCE, Chief Judge.

The ¡following constitutes the findings of fact and conclusions of law of this court:

Defendant Collier,1 a Delaware corporation with its principal office in New York, is a publisher of books. Its set of encyclopedias in English with certain accompanying volumes are the only books involved in this case.

About 1953 plaintiff Gates, then in Japan, started selling Collier’s encyclopedias in Japan under an arrangement whereby GatesCo purchased Collier’s encyclopedias outright at $69 per set, FOB Hammond, Indiana — GatesCo paying all costs thereafter — under a strictly buyer-seller arrangement. GatesCo sold many sets of the encyclopedia but by the end of 1959 GatesCo was owing Collier some $68,000 on encyclopedias sold and delivered by Collier but not paid for by GatesCo.

Collier sells its books internationally and in order to straighten out GatesCo’s debt as well as set up a Collier’s sales branch in Japan, Gates came to New York in March of 1960 and entered into a personal contract with Collier, dated April 15, 1960, whereby Gates was to become the “Far Eastern Sales Supervisor” of Collier with his headquarters in Tokyo, Japan (actually in Gates’ own GatesCo building). Gates’ duties were to recruit, train, maintain and supervise a book sales organization to sell Collier’s books, as well as collect accounts and supervise sales of Collier’s books. The salesmen were not employees of Collier.

The sales territory of the Japan division of Collier was the Empire of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc. Orders obtained by Gates and his sales personnel were to be forwarded to Collier in New York for acceptance by Collier, there. All monies received from sales to Japanese civilians and schools (yen accounts) were to be deposited by Gates in Collier’s account in the First National City Bank, Tokyo branch. All dollars received from American Military (servicemen) were to be sent directly to New York.

Gates was to get 34% of the net sales price of all orders accepted and if 50% of the purchase price was paid within 15 months after acceptance by Collier of an order, Gates was entitled to 7% more. If the gross sales during a 12-month period from the date of the contract or in any successive 12-month period thereafter equalled $1,000,000, Gates was entitled to 2% more. If it were but $500,000 during such period, then Gates would get but 1%. For cash sales, Gates was allowed either to give to the purchaser a 5% discount or keep 5% himself.

It was contemplated by both parties that there might be losses on account of bad accounts — Collier expecting a loss of 12.5% on the total amount of accepted orders. In order to induce good, [207]*207collectible business, on 24-month contracts a monthly analysis would be made 30 months from the month in which the business was reported, and on a 12-month contract — 15 months. If a contract was not paid in full at the end of either 30 or 15 months, it was classified as a loss. If the losses were below 12.5%, Gates was to get the difference between the 12.5% and the actual percentage loss ratio incurred. If the actual loss ratio exceeded 12.5%, Gates was to pay Collier the difference between 12.5% and the actual percentage of loss over that figure.

Practically simultaneously with the execution of the agreement, Collier prepared for Gates an “Outline of procedure for opening a Branch in Tokyo, Japan.” This “procedure” was intended to (by both parties) and did implement and interpret the contract. By that procedure, Collier was to ship, at its own expense, such books as were required for sales in Japan, to Gates’ warehouse in Tokyo. Delivery to the customers in Japan was at Gates’ expense. All military orders were to be shipped by Collier’s New York office to the purchasers. Gates was to pay all branch operational expenses such as clerical salaries, office rent, warehousing, etc. All accounts sold by Gates in Japan were to be the accounts receivable of Collier. The Tokyo branch was to handle accounts collected there on two different bases. When yen were to be paid, it was on a 12-month contract basis, and when dollars were to be paid, the collection was on a 24-month basis. All yen received were to be deposited in Collier’s “Japan Branch” account in Tokyo. Dollars collected in Tokyo were to be remitted directly to New York. The amount remitted to Collier in New York on yen collected was to be the amount as limited by Collier’s Import License. Various accounts were given the following numbers:

U. S. military accounts — 96B

Japanese civilian accounts — 97B

Japanese schools and libraries accounts — 99B

(In 1962, Australian accounts — 98B)

Audits on all Japanese accounts were to be made by the Haskins & Sells representative- in Tokyo. The contract also provided that GatesCo should pay its debt to Collier in the sum of $68,036.91 in monthly installments of $5,000 each commencing May 15, 1960.

So that Gates could be paid immediately the commission on the dollar accounts, Collier established an “Imprest Fund” with the Long Island Trust Company in New York, on which Gates had the power of attorney and from which he could draw to pay his sales commissions. The dollar Imprest Fund was established only for the purpose of paying commissions on sales when Collier received dollars instead of yen. Collier paid all legal, tax and other expenses for setting up the Tokyo branch of its corporation, and applied for and received a Japanese Import License so that Collier in New York could be paid for all of the books sent to the Japan office.

Collier’s Import License allowed payment to Collier, out of Japan, for the “full amount of invoice covering cost of books,” the sum of $172.50 per set of encyclopedias and accompanying books. The gross sale price of the set of encyclopedias with accompanying books was first fixed at $269.50.

The contract was agreed upon and drawn up in New York while Gates was there. Collier signed it in New York, and Gates signed it in Tokyo. Both parties operated under the above contract until September 15, 1961, when a new agreement was entered into whereby Gates became “Supervisor of the Asiatic Division of Collier” with the same obligations, duties, etc., but with the Republic of the Philippines added to his territory. About this time he was made a vice-president of Collier. The accounting period for the 1% and 2% bonus was put on a calendar year basis as of January 1, 1962. The loss ratio basis on sales to Japanese schools and libraries was fixed at 10%, but was again fixed at 12.5% on all other sales. This contract, like the preceding one provided that the agreement should “continue in [208]*208effect until terminated by either party on two weeks’ notice, in writing, to the other of his or its election to do so.”

Meanwhile, Gates, personally, had become indebted to Collier for $5,000 and this September 1961 agreement provided that Gates would pay this off at the rate of $500 per month beginning October 1, 1961.2 In other respects this agreement was practically the same as the first one.

Towards the end of 1961, Collier and Gates decided to open up a Collier branch in Australia, and did so in January 1962. However, as to the Australian operation, it was agreed that Gates would act as an independent contractor and not as an employee of Collier and would be entitled to a 36% basic sales commission.

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Related

Lowther v. U.S. Bank N.A.
971 F. Supp. 2d 989 (D. Hawaii, 2013)
Ronald E. Gates v. P. F. Collier, Inc.
378 F.2d 888 (Ninth Circuit, 1967)

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Bluebook (online)
256 F. Supp. 204, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9891, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gates-v-p-f-collier-inc-hid-1966.