Opinion ID: 1925065
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Alleged Violation of Alabama Acts 84-374 and 88-80

Text: Schilleci next challenges the trial court's summary judgment for Anheuser-Busch, Daniel, and CCB Montgomery on claims arising from Ala.Code 1975, § 28-8-1 et seq., as amended (Act 84-374), and § 28-9-6 et seq. (Act 88-80) (collectively referred to as Territorial Acts). The Territorial Acts require that a beer supplier designate exclusive sales territories within the state and name one licensed wholesaler for each territory. Sales by a wholesaler are unlawful unless made in the wholesaler's designated territory and authorized by a written agreement with the supplier, § 28-8-8, and the territories may be altered or modified only if the supplier 1) gives 60 days' notice of its intended action, 2) acts in good faith, and 3) demonstrates good cause for the amendment. Schilleci stresses that the maps and narrative descriptions of the exclusive territory assigned to CCB Montgomery by Anheuser-Busch in 1982 included all of Montgomery County and in no way delineated the south Montgomery area as the territory of Horn Beverage. Schilleci thus argues that he was assigned the exclusive right to service the south Montgomery area and that Anheuser-Busch modified this territory without complying with the statute. He further argues that this modification constitutes a breach of Daniel's contract with Anheuser-Busch, which was assigned to him after the purchase of CCB Montgomery. In its order, the trial court held that Anheuser-Busch's change in the maps and description of the territory originally assigned to CCB Montgomery was not a modification of the territory, but rather a correction of the formal documents. The court further held that even if the change did constitute a modification of territory, Anheuser-Busch substantially complied with the statutory requirements. In its letter to Horn and Daniel resolving the dispute over the accounts, Anheuser-Busch stated: The purpose of this is not to modify your equity agreements in any way, but rather to correct a mistake that has existed since the time the new equity agreements were issued in 1982. The mistakes centered on several accounts in the southern most part of Montgomery County. These accounts had always been serviced out of the Troy, Alabama, operation of Capital City Beverage until that operation was sold to Bill Horn in 1982. At that time Horn Beverage Company of Brundidge and that wholesaler continued to service the accounts. At the time the new equity agreement was issued in December 1982, neither Horn Beverage Company nor Capital City Beverage pointed out the obvious error in the territorial descriptions. Nevertheless, Horn Beverage continued to service these accounts and services them to this day. Our determination that these accounts have been, and should continue to be, part of the territory serviced by the Horn Beverage Company is the result of careful analysis of the historical situation, and the equities involved here. It is undisputed that since its territorial maps and descriptions were issued in 1982, CCB Montgomery has never serviced the 23 south Montgomery accounts. On the day Daniel and Schilleci closed the sale of CCB Montgomery/Troy, Schilleci executed a Supplemental Agreement granting him the right to work accounts in the territory currently serviced by CCB Montgomery. Schilleci was fully aware when he signed the Supplemental Agreement that CCB Montgomery was not currently servicing the south Montgomery accounts and had not done so since 1982, when Horn left the employment of CCB Montgomery and established Horn Beverage. The trial court correctly held that Schilleci's rights to service any particular territory arose out of the assignment of Daniel's rights as reflected in the Supplemental Agreement. Therefore, we hold that the change in territorial maps and descriptions did not constitute an amendment of the territory transferred from CCB Montgomery to Schilleci; rather, the changes merely updated the maps and descriptions to formally reflect the actual area that CCB Montgomery served. Accordingly, the requirements of the statute were never invoked, and Anheuser-Busch was entitled to a judgment as a matter of law on this issue. Moreover, because the changes made by Anheuser-Busch did not alter or modify the wholesaler's agreement, the trial court properly entered the summary judgment for Anheuser-Busch on the claim alleging breach of contract. Schilleci next argues that Horn and Horn Beverage had violated the Territorial Acts by selling Anheuser-Busch products in the south Montgomery area since 1982. However, the Territorial Acts do not create a civil cause of action in favor of Schilleci against Horn and Horn Beverage. On the contrary, § 28-9-8(a) expressly provides that [n]othing contained in this chapter shall give rise to a claim against the supplier or wholesaler by any proposed purchaser of wholesaler's business. Where this Court is called upon to construe a statute, it is our duty to ascertain and effectuate the legislative intent expressed in the statute, which may be gleaned from the language used, the reason and necessity for the act, and the purpose sought to be obtained. Tuscaloosa County Comm'n v. Deputy Sheriffs' Ass'n of Tuscaloosa County, 589 So.2d 687 (Ala. 1991). Here, it is clear that the legislature intended to create no private cause of action between wholesalers, and this Court is not empowered to invade the legislative process and judicially create rights that the legislature clearly did not intend to create. Tuscaloosa County Comm'n, supra. We therefore conclude that the trial court properly entered the summary judgment in favor of Horn and Horn Beverage on this issue. There being no further issues presented, the trial court's judgments are hereby affirmed. AFFIRMED. HORNSBY, C.J., and ALMON, KENNEDY and INGRAM, JJ., concur.