Opinion ID: 1643072
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Hugh Stewart

Text: Stewart purchased his branch along with his father in 1988 for $125,000. He testified that the News assured him that an advantage of having a franchise was that he would have the branch for life. He purchased his father's interest in 1993 for $75,000; that same year he executed an agreement with the News that contained an automatic-renewal provision. In March 1997, Stewart complained to the News about its imposition of fines and its refusal to provide credits. In August 1997, he received a letter from Pearson stating that his performance was unsatisfactory and that his dealership franchise would not be renewed. Stewart began keeping meticulous records of his service. The News offered Stewart a 90-day extension on his agreement in September 1997 and thereafter allowed him to execute another agreement, on January 1, 1998, containing the automatic-renewal provision. Stewart presented the News with his records and reports of investigations of complaints, showing that the News's CPT information was inaccurate; he never received a response. Stewart was never provided any specific information by the News as to what constituted satisfactory performance. He received a letter in April 1998 stating that his CPT of 4.0 was totally unsatisfactory; he presented evidence at the hearing before the arbitration panel indicating that, according to his records, that CPT was inaccurate. In May 1998 he received another letter from the News stating that his CPT was still at an unacceptable level. In fact, his CPT had declined during the previous month to 2.5. The News notified Stewart by letter on June 29, 1998, that it had decided to terminate his agreement but that, although it could do so immediately because of his poor service, it would allow him 60 days to find a purchaser for his dealership. Ultimately, the News terminated his agreement effective September 1, 1998. The documentation produced by the News concerning Stewart's CPTs contained duplications and thousands of complaints that were made after Stewart's dealership franchise had been terminated. The News's proffered reason for the terminationpoor servicewas not credible. After the News took over Stewart's dealership franchise, the CPT increased to 50.8 and, despite the fact that the dealership had been reduced in size, Keeble admitted that the News could not run the branch as well as Stewart had. Stewart valued his franchise at $340,966; its loss caused him financial difficulty and significant mental anguish. Williams valued Stewart's branch at $175,000 and assessed Stewart's lost profits for a 20-year period, reduced to present value, at $533,580.