Opinion

Groseth International, Inc. v. Tenneco, Inc.

  • 410 N.W.2d 159
  • 1987 S.D. LEXIS 357
Court
South Dakota Supreme Court
Filed
Sep 30, 1987
Status
Published
Author
Sabers
On the bench
Sabers, Morgan, Henderson, Wuest, Fosheim, Ret, Miller
Cited by
102 cases

interpreting § 37-5-3 and holding that the “just provocation” standard “requires some sort of misconduct or shortcoming on the part of the dealer,” and rejecting the *863 manufacturer’s argument it could meet the standard where a termination was in good faith

How later courts described this case

  • interpreting § 37-5-3 and holding that the “just provocation” standard “requires some sort of misconduct or shortcoming on the part of the dealer,” and rejecting the *863 manufacturer’s argument it could meet the standard where a termination was in good faith
  • holding that no fiduciary relationship existed between IH and one of its dealers
  • holding "just provocation [under § 37-5-3] requires some sort of misconduct or shortcoming on the part of the dealer."
  • upholding summary judgment that no fiduciary relationship existed between International Harvester and one of its dealers

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

I am hereby authorized to state that FOSHEIM, Retired Justice, joins in this concurrence in part and dissent in part.

SABERS, Justice.

Supplement to Opinion for Clarification Purposes Only

The opinion in the above-entitled appeal was handed down on July 15, 1987, and appellees have filed their request for reconsideration upon various grounds which the majority of the court does not find to be persuasive. It appears, however, that language in the opinion on # 15329, relating to the liability of Case/Tenneco for IHC dealers with respect to (a) express assumption and (b) implied assumption may be subject to misunderstanding and that clarification is appropriate.

The language in the opinion must be considered in the context of the issue of the propriety of summary judgment in favor of Case/Tenneco against Groseth, not the pro *177 priety of summary judgment for Groseth against Case/Tenneco. Nor was it intended to imply that the latter was proper. Case/Tenneeo’s liability, if any, on these issues is for the jury to determine on proper instructions.

With this clarification, the opinion as handed down is in all other regards reaffirmed.

MORGAN, J., concurs.

HENDERSON, J., concurs specially.

WUEST, C.J., and FOSHEIM, Retired Justice, dissent.

MILLER, J., not having been a member of the court at the time this action was submitted to the court, did not participate.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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