Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:803 – Prohibited acts by supplier
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:803
- Agreement: means any agreement between a wholesaler and a supplier, whether oral or written, whereby a wholesaler is granted the right to purchase and sell a brand or brands of beer sold by a supplier. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:802
- Beer: means a beverage obtained by alcoholic fermentation of an infusion or concoction of barley or other grain, malt, and hops in water. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:802
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Designated member: means the spouse, child, grandchild, parent, brother, or sister of a deceased individual who owned an interest, including a controlling interest, in a wholesaler, or any person who inherits under the deceased individual's will, or under the laws of intestate succession of this state; or any person who or entity which has otherwise, through a valid testamentary device by the deceased individual, succeeded the deceased individual in the wholesaler's business, or has succeeded to the deceased individual's ownership interest in the wholesaler pursuant to a written contract or instrument which has been previously approved by the supplier; and also includes the appointed and qualified personal representative and the testamentary trustee of a deceased individual owning an ownership interest in a wholesaler. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:802
- Good faith: means honesty in fact and the observance of reasonable commercial standards of fair dealing in the trade. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:802
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
- Reasonable qualifications: means the standard of the reasonable criteria established and consistently used by the respective supplier for similarly situated wholesalers that entered into, continued, or renewed an agreement with the supplier during a period of twenty-four months prior to the proposed transfer of the wholesaler's business, or for similarly situated wholesalers who have changed managers or designated managers during a period of twenty-four months prior to the proposed change in the manager or successor manager of the wholesaler's business. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:802
- Retaliatory action: means the refusal to continue an agreement, or a material reduction in the quality of service or quantity of products available to a wholesaler under an agreement, which refusal or reduction is not made in good faith. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:802
- Sales territory: means an area of exclusive sales responsibility for the brand or brands of beer sold by a supplier as designated by an agreement. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:802
- Similarly situated wholesalers: means wholesalers of a supplier that are of a generally comparable size, and operate in markets with similar demographic characteristics, including population size, density, distribution, and vital statistics, as well as reasonably similar economic and geographic conditions. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:802
- Successor: means a person who replaces a supplier, importer, broker, or wholesaler with regard to the right to manufacture, sell, distribute, broker, or import a brand or brands of beer or light wine. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:802
- Supplier: means a manufacturer or importer of beer and light wine brands as registered with the commissioner. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:802
- Wholesaler: means a wholesaler of beer and light wine as licensed under this Title. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 26:802
A supplier shall not do the following:
(1) Fail to provide each wholesaler of the supplier’s brand or brands with a written agreement which contains in total the supplier’s agreement with each wholesaler and designates a specific exclusive sales territory. Any agreement which is in existence on May 26, 1993, shall be renewed consistent with this Chapter, provided that this Chapter may be incorporated by reference in the agreement. However, nothing contained herein shall prevent a supplier from appointing, one time for a period not to exceed ninety days, a wholesaler to temporarily service a sales territory not designated to another wholesaler, until such time as a wholesaler is appointed by the supplier. A wholesaler who is designated to service the sales territory during this period of temporary service shall not be in violation of this Chapter and, with respect to the temporary service territory, shall not have any of the rights provided under La. Rev. Stat. 26:805 and 807.
(2) Fix, maintain, or establish the price at which a wholesaler shall sell any beer.
(3) Enter into an additional agreement with any other wholesaler for, or to sell to any other wholesaler, the same brand or brands of beer in the same territory or any portion thereof, or to sell directly to any retailer in this state.
(4) Require any wholesaler to accept delivery of any beer or other commodity which has not been ordered by the wholesaler. However, a supplier may impose reasonable inventory requirements upon a wholesaler if the requirements are made in good faith and are generally applied to other similarly situated wholesalers who have an agreement with the supplier.
(5) Require any wholesaler to accept delivery of any beer or other commodity ordered by a wholesaler if the order was properly cancelled by the wholesaler in accordance with the supplier’s procedures.
(6) Require any wholesaler to do any illegal act or to violate any law or regulation by threatening to amend, modify, cancel, terminate, or refuse to renew any agreement existing between the supplier and wholesaler.
(7) Require a wholesaler to assent to any condition, stipulation, or provision limiting the wholesaler’s right to sell the brand or brands of beer of any other supplier unless the acquisition of the brand or brands of another supplier would materially impair or adversely affect the wholesaler’s quality of service, sales, or ability to compete effectively in representing the brand or brands of the supplier presently being sold by the wholesaler. However, the supplier shall have the burden of proving that such acquisition of such other brand or brands would have such effect.
(8) Require a wholesaler to purchase one or more brands of beer products in order for the wholesaler to purchase another brand or brands of beer for any reason. However, a wholesaler that has agreed to distribute a brand or brands before May 26, 1993, shall continue to distribute the brand or brands in conformance with this Chapter.
(9) Require a wholesaler to submit audited profit and loss statements, balance sheets, or financial records as a condition of renewal or continuation of an agreement.
(10) Withhold delivery of beer ordered by wholesaler, or change a wholesaler’s quota of a brand or brands if the withholding or change is not made in good faith.
(11) Require a wholesaler by any means directly to participate in or contribute to any local or national advertising fund controlled directly or indirectly by a supplier.
(12) Take any retaliatory action against a wholesaler that files a complaint in good faith regarding an alleged violation by the supplier of federal, state, or local law or an administrative rule as a result of that complaint.
(13) Require or prohibit any change in the manager or successor of any wholesaler who has been approved by the supplier as of or subsequent to May 26, 1993, unless the supplier acts in good faith. Should a wholesaler change an approved manager or successor manager, a supplier shall not require or prohibit the change unless the person selected by the wholesaler fails to meet the nondiscriminatory, material, and reasonable standards and qualifications for managers consistently applied to similarly situated wholesalers by the supplier. However, the supplier shall have the burden of proving that such person fails to meet such standards and qualifications.
(14) Upon written notice of intent to transfer the wholesaler’s business, interfere with, prevent, or unreasonably delay, not to exceed thirty days, the transfer of the wholesaler’s business if the proposed transferee is a designated member.
(15) Upon written notice of intent to transfer the wholesaler’s business other than to a designated member, withhold consent to or approval of, or unreasonably delay, not to exceed thirty days after receipt of all material information reasonably requested, a response to a request by the wholesaler for any transfer of a wholesaler’s business if the proposed transferee meets the nondiscriminatory, material, and reasonable qualifications and standards required by the supplier for similarly situated wholesalers.
(16) Restrict or inhibit the right of free association among wholesalers for any lawful purpose.
Acts 1993, No. 132, §1, eff. May 26, 1993.