North Carolina General Statutes 18B-1204. Cancellation
Notwithstanding the terms, provisions, or conditions of any agreement, no winery may amend, cancel, terminate, or refuse to continue to renew any agreement, or cause a wholesaler to resign from an agreement, unless good cause exists for amendment, termination, cancellation, nonrenewal, noncontinuation, or resignation. “Good cause” does not include a change in ownership of a winery. “Good cause” does include:
(1) Revocation of the wholesaler’s permit or license to do business in this State;
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 18B-1204
- Agreement: means a commercial relationship between a wine wholesaler and a winery. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-1201
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- permit: means a presently valid permit. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-101
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Wine wholesaler: means any holder of a wine wholesaler permit, wine importer permit, or bottler permit issued under the authority of this Chapter. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-1201
- Winery: means any holder of an unfortified winery permit, fortified winery permit, limited winery permit, or nonresident wine vendor permit issued under the authority of this Chapter who sells at least 1,250 cases of wine in North Carolina per year. See North Carolina General Statutes 18B-1201
(2) Bankruptcy or receivership of the wholesaler;
(3) Assignment for the benefit of creditors or similar disposition of the assets of the wholesaler; or
(4) Failure of the wholesaler to comply substantially, without reasonable excuse or justification, with any reasonable and material requirement imposed upon him by the winery, including a substantial failure by a wine wholesaler to:
a. Maintain a sales volume of the brands offered by the winery, or
b. Render services comparable in quality, quantity, or volume to the sales volumes maintained and services rendered by other wholesalers of the same brands within the State.
In any determination as to whether a wholesaler has failed to comply substantially, without reasonable excuse or justification, with any reasonable and material requirement imposed upon him by the winery, consideration shall be given to the relative size, population, geographical location, number of retail outlets, demand for the products applicable to the territory of the wholesaler in question and to comparable territories, and any reasonable sales quota set by the agreement. The burden of proving good cause for amendment, termination, cancellation, nonrenewal, noncontinuation, or resignation is on the winery. (1983, c. 85, s. 2.)