Leon v. Chrysler Motors Corporation

358 F. Supp. 877, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14734
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedFebruary 28, 1973
DocketCiv. A. 204-69
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 358 F. Supp. 877 (Leon v. Chrysler Motors Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Leon v. Chrysler Motors Corporation, 358 F. Supp. 877, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14734 (D.N.J. 1973).

Opinion

OPINION

COOLAHAN, District Judge:

Plaintiffs brought this action originally to enjoin certain allegedly discriminatory and anti-competitive trade practices observed by defendant Chrysler Motors Corporation in favor of defendant Newark Chrysler & Plymouth, Inc. As the lawsuit has progressed from its inception in February 1969, however, it has become apparent that the real relief sought by plaintiffs is to dissociate themselves from two advertising associations, composed of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut Chrysler and Plymouth dealer franchises. The New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Plymouth Advertising Association, Inc. (PAA) and New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Chrysler Imperial Dealers Advertising Association, Inc. (CIDAA) were joined as defendants in December 1970. The case has been settled as to defendants Chrysler Motors Corporation and Newark Chrysler & Plymouth, Inc., leaving the PAA and CIDAA as the only parties against whom relief is sought. There exists no dispute as to the relevant facts, and the matter now awaits disposition by the Court upon cross motions for summary judgment under Rule 56, F.Rules Civ.P.

Plaintiff West Side Motors is a partnership having its principal place of business in Newark, New Jersey and has been a franchised Chrysler Motors dealer approximately 35 years. It has negotiated direct dealership agreements with Chrysler Motors Corporation from time to time, most recently in March 1965, for the sale of Chryslers, Plymouths and Imperials. Obviously, plaintiff’s management has gone to considerable expense and effort to develop the franchise’s good will and reputation within the northern New Jersey consumer community. The description of this case is roughly a history of plaintiffs’ struggle to promote and protect that good will and reputation as they see fit.

In or about 1959, both the PAA and CIDAA were incorporated as non-profit membership corporations under the law of New York. These two Associations were formed by franchised Chrysler Motors dealers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Not all dealers participated in the incorporation of the Associations, but virtually all who did not have joined subsequently. Today, there are 160 dealerships in each Association, which the Court understands to represent a vast majority of the total number of franchises existing in the tri-state area serviced by the PAA and CIDAA. West Side Motors entered the PAA in or about June 1961 and the CIDAA in or *879 about January 1963. All members, of course, are bound by the respective membership agreement of each Association 1 , insofar as the provisions therein or any internal legislation of the Associations do not contravene New York law controlling non-profit corporations. The by-laws and membership agreements of the PAA and CIDAA are almost identical.

As one may readily infer from the names of the Associations, their raison d’ etre is mass advertising. 2 The benefits of mass advertising as compared to individual advertising were evidently clear to Chrysler Motors dealers throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, as virtually all such franchise holders incorporated or later joined the advertising Associations.

However, until approximately three years ago, individual dealer identification nonetheless found its way into the PAA and CIDAA mass advertising campaigns. This policy caused disputes among the dealers because in some instances, considering the use of mass media such as radio, television, and newspapers, media coverage spread over the territories serviced by scores of dealerships. One could obviously expect quarrels to develop concerning which dealerships were to be individually identified, upon which media, how often and under what circumstances. Further, individualized identification consumed valuable radio and television time at the expense of product identification. It was some three years ago, therefore, that the PAA and CIDAA Boards of Directors voted 3 to end the advertising practice of individualized dealer identification. The past policy was replaced with a new advertising campaign, based on the slogan “See Your Local Chrysler Dealer.”

Shortly thereafter, plaintiffs sued the Chrysler Motors Corporation and Newark Chrysler & Plymouth, Inc., alleging various discriminatory and anti-competitive practices in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 1px solid var(--green-border)">2; Sections 4, 12, and 16 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 15, 22, and 15/26" style="color:var(--green);border-bottom:1px solid var(--green-border)">26; and Subsections 2(a), (d), (e), and (f) of the Robinson-Patman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 13(a). The complaint averred that Chrysler had, for whatever reason, given the Newark dealership preferential treatment over West Side Motors. Plaintiffs claimed that Chrysler Motors had delayed delivery of cars, failed to compensate West Side for increased costs in honoring the Chrysler warranty, wrongfully refused credit on auto parts, overcharged for cars delivered, withheld pertinent trade information, refused to carry on normal dealer-manufacturer correspondence, and committed numerous deliberate accounting errors. It was alleged that in all these respects, Newark Chrysler & Plymouth received favored treatment. This aspect of the liti *880 gation, however, has been settled and is not presently before this Court.

Most important for purposes of the action as it presently stands, plaintiffs have alleged that Newark Chrysler & Plymouth, as well as other neighboring competitors, has benefited, to the financial prejudice of West Side Motors, from the new, regionalized advertising program 4 of the PAA and CIDAA. Newark Chrysler & Plymouth, a newly formed, 1968 dealership franchise, is a member of the Associations and pays its pro rata share of dues per the assessment schedule described hereinafter. Nonetheless, plaintiffs contend that their inability to finance their own, individualized advertising has become a severe competitive handicap. Additionally, it has been alleged and conceded that one local competitor is not a member of either the PAA or CIDAA. 5 Thus, plaintiffs allege, advertisement dues assessed against West Side Motors have been used in fact to divert good will and patronage away from it to a nonpaying, unassociated Chrysler-Plymouth dealership.

The assessment and collection of Association dues is governed by the by-laws and membership agreements of the respective groups.

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Bluebook (online)
358 F. Supp. 877, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14734, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/leon-v-chrysler-motors-corporation-njd-1973.