Opinion ID: 1643072
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Kameron Hyde

Text: Hyde purchased his franchise from the News in May 1994 for $147,000. The branch consisted primarily of apartments and contained more apartments than any other branch. Hyde's supervisor at the News from 1995 to 1997, Jack Burnham, testified that Hyde's performance was satisfactory and that he knew of no reason why his agreement would be terminated for cause. Hyde never received any information concerning what the News expected by way of job performance during that same period. In April 1998, however, Hyde received a letter from Keeble stating that Hyde's CPT was 5.7, which Keeble said was unsatisfactory, and that such unsatisfactory performance could lead to the termination of his dealership franchise. Hyde received another letter, dated June 29, 1998, stating that, in light of [his] nonperformance, his dealership could be terminated immediately, but he would be allowed 60 days to find a purchaser for his dealership. In any event, your Agreement will not be renewed when it expires on October 31, 1998. Hyde contacted Burnham, who also told him that the News would not renew his dealership and that he should locate a purchaser. Hyde found a prospective buyer, but when the buyer contacted the News, she was advised not to pay more for the franchise than she could make in one year because that would be all the dealership would be worth. Hyde's contract was nonrenewed `for cause' on October 31, 1998. Jim Keeble testified that Kameron Hyde's service record was poor, and that he was terminated `for cause.' Keeble based his decision to nonrenew Hyde's contract solely on his CPT numbers. (Panel decision, p. 194.) Keeble testified that Hyde's problem was poor customer service. The panel found that Keeble's professed reason for terminating Hyde's dealership to be lacking in credibility and it concluded that Hyde's dealer relationship was wrongfully terminated. Hyde valued his franchise at $132,363. Williams valued it at $160,000 and calculated Hyde's lost profits for a 20-year period, reduced to present value, to be $496,912.