Opinion ID: 1652457
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Remedies Under the AFERFPA

Text: The final question this court must consider is whether, under the facts of this case, the sole remedies for a violation of the AFERFPA are: (1) the requirement that the manufacturer repurchase inventory for a termination without good cause, and (2) damages, costs, and attorneys' fees that result from the failure to purchase inventory as provided in Arkansas Code Annotated section 4-72-309 (Repl.2001), or whether other remedies are also available. Section 4-72-309 provides: If any wholesaler, manufacturer, or distributor fails or refuses to repurchase any inventory covered under the provisions of this subchapter within sixty (60) days after shipment of the inventory, he or she shall be civilly liable for one hundred percent (100%) of the current net price of the inventory, plus any freight charges paid by the retailer, the retailer's attorney's fees, court costs, and interest on the current net price computed at the legal interest rate from the sixty-first day after shipment. Hobbs states that the 1991 amendments to the AFERFPA, adding section 4-72-310, created new rights not tied to a manufacturer's inventory repurchase rights. Hobbs avers that the AFERFPA contains two sets of rights for dealersrights that exist during or after the term of the dealership agreement and rights that exist only upon termination of the dealership agreement. Hobbs further states that, while the legislature provided farm equipment dealers with new rights, the legislature failed to specify any particular remedy for violation of these new rights. Still, Hobbs asserts that it is not without a remedy because article 2, section 13 of the Arkansas Constitution requires that there be a remedy for every right created by the legislature. That section provides: Every person is entitled to a certain remedy in the laws for all injuries or wrongs he may receive in his person, property or character; he ought to obtain justice freely, and without purchase; completely, and without denial; promptly and without delay; conformably to the laws. Ark. Const. art. 2, § 13. Hobbs correctly states the law, but it appears to suggest that this constitutional provision means that it is entitled to money damages. Article 2, section 13 provides that one wronged is entitled to a certain remedy, but it does not state that the remedy must be in the form of money damages. In the absence of a statutory provision expressly authorizing it, damages cannot be recovered by either party. White River Land & Timber Co. v. Hawkins, 128 Ark. 277, 279, 194 S.W. 9, 10 (1917). There is no language in section 4-72-310 authorizing money damages. Therefore, the remedies available under that section are limited to remedies other than money damages, such as injunctive relief and declaratory relief. As such, we answer the third question in the negative. The sole remedies for a violation of the AFERFPA are not those provided in section 4-72-309; parties may also seek remedies other than money damages. Certified questions answered.