Franchise Termination. H. C. Blackwell Co was a truck dealership owned by the Blackwell family. In 1961 they purchased a franchise from Kenworth Truck Co to sell Kenworth trucks. The franchise agreement had been renewed several times. In November 1975 the Blackwells began negotiations with Kenworth to renew the recently expired franchise, and disagreements arose concerning the franchise. On February 4, 1976, Kenworth wrote to Blackwell that the franchise would be terminated in ninety days unless Blackwell met twelve specific demands made by Kenworth. In trying to meet these demandswhich included increased sales, a better method of keeping business records, and capital improvements at its dealershipBlackwell spent approximately 90,000. By the end of the ninety-day period, however, the demands had not been met, so Kenworth terminated the franchise. Blackwell sued Kenworth for damages on the grounds that Kenworth had wrongfully terminated the franchise agreement and, in so doing, had violated the Automobile Dealers' Franchise Act. During the trial, Kenworth's own regional sales manager stated that the demands imposed by Kenworth on Blackwell would have taken at least a year to meet. Has Kenworth wrongfully terminated the franchise under the Automobile Dealers' Franchise Act? Discuss fully.
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