2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 36 - Trade Practices › Chapter 3 - Retail Service Stations › Subchapter III - Marketing Agreements › § 36–303.04. Retail dealer’s remedies

§ 36–303.04. Retail dealer’s remedies.
(a) The remedies provided for in this section are in addition to any and all other remedies available to the retail dealer under this subchapter, the marketing agreement, any other statute or act, or law or equity.
(b) In the event of any termination of, cancellation of, or failure to renew a marketing agreement, whether by the unilateral action of either the retail dealer or the distributor, by mutual agreement, by the death of the retail dealer, or otherwise, the distributor shall make or cause to be made an offer in good faith to repurchase from the retail dealer or his legal representative within 30 days after the effective date of such termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal, any and all merchantable products, including, but not limited to, any motor fuels, petroleum products, and automotive products, at the full price originally paid or at the then current wholesale price, whichever price shall be lower, and any and all equipment, including any equipment which has been affixed or appended, after April 19, 1977, with the permission of the distributor, to a retail service station leased from the distributor, at the current fair market value, which have been purchased by the retail dealer from the distributor and which have been tendered, to the extent that such tender may be practical, by the retail dealer or his legal representative to the distributor. If the distributor does not make or cause to be made a good faith offer to repurchase the retail dealer’s products and equipment within the 30-day period provided for in this subsection, the retail dealer or his legal representative may sell the products and equipment for as reasonable a price as may be obtained, may apply the balance owed by the distributor against any existing indebtedness owed by the retail dealer to the distributor, and shall have a cause of action against the distributor for the difference. In the event that the distributor repurchases the retail dealer’s products and equipment the distributor shall have the right to first apply the value of the products and equipment being repurchased against any existing indebtedness owed directly to the distributor by the retail dealer. The distributor’s obligation to repurchase shall be enforceable only to the extent that there are no other valid claims or liens against such products or equipment by or on behalf of other creditors of the retail dealer.
(c) Equipment purchased or otherwise acquired by the retail dealer and affixed or appended, after April 19, 1977, with the permission of the lessor, to a retail service station leased by the retail dealer shall remain the property of the retail dealer, notwithstanding the fact that it is permanently affixed or the existence of any contrary provisions in a marketing agreement, other agreement, or law. Upon the termination of, cancellation of, or failure to renew a lease or other agreement or the termination of, cancellation of, or failure to renew a marketing agreement, the retail dealer or his legal representative shall have a reasonable time in which to remove such equipment. In removing such equipment, the retail dealer or his legal representative shall leave the retail service station premises in substantially the same condition as they were at the time the equipment was affixed or appended.
(d) If the distributor terminates, cancels, or fails to renew a marketing agreement for any of the grounds specified in § 36-303.03(c)(2), (3), (11), or (14) and § 36-303.03(d)(2), (3), or (4) or for any cause or circumstance allowed under § 36-303.03(c)(16) which involves the retail dealer’s failure to comply with the marketing agreement or which was not beyond the reasonable control of the distributor to prevent, the distributor shall pay to the retail dealer, within 30 days of the effective date of the termination, cancellation, or failure to renew, the full value of any business goodwill enjoyed by the dealer on the effective date of the notice furnished pursuant to § 36-303.03(b).
(Apr. 19, 1977, D.C. Law 1-123, § 4-204, 24 DCR 2371.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 10-224.
1973 Ed., § 10-224.
Section References
This section is referenced in § 36-303.06.