Tilstra v. BouMatic LLC

Record contained sufficient evidence to support jury’s $471,124 verdict in favor of plaintiff in action alleging that defendant breached terms of dealership agreement by forcing plaintiff to sell his dealership to third-party at below-market price. Terms of agreement precluded defendant from terminating without good cause agreement calling for defendant to supply plaintiff with dairy farming equipment for plaintiff’s resale to customers, and record showed that defendant essentially terminated agreement by telling plaintiff that it would reduce plaintiff’s sales territory to zero if it did not sell dealership to third-party. Moreover, defendant failed to establish good cause for seeking sale of dealership to third-party, and agreement did not allow defendant to seek sale of dealership based on belief that said sale might increase defendant’s profits.