Opinion ID: 702495
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Letters Confirming Distributorships

Text: 20 We agree with defendant that the letters have legal significance and need to be examined more closely. Some, if not all, plaintiffs began their business relationship with defendant at a meeting with a Thomas representative. At a typical meeting the Thomas representative explained the terms of the distributorship, in effect making an offer to the distributor to enter into a contractual relationship. If the distributor accepted, nothing else needed to be done to have an enforceable contract. Since Thomas' agreements with distributors were contracts of indefinite duration, they were excluded from the statute of frauds, Conn.Gen.Stat. Sec. 52-550(a), and no writing was required to evidence them. See, e.g., C.R. Klewin, Inc. v. Flagship Properties, Inc., 220 Conn. 569, 600 A.2d 772, 779 (1991). 21 But defendant chose not to end the contract-making process at that stage. Thomas understood the value--both legal and practical--of reducing its oral agreements to writing. As to plaintiffs Nardello, Petereit, Pitrone, Lonergan, Strasser and Adkins, appellant's regional or district sales manager sent them each a letter confirming the terms of the agreement that had been reached. These letters were sent within days of the meeting or within days of the effective date of the distributorship. 1 22 The confirmation letters are basically similar. They are each two to three pages in length and, with two exceptions, each states that its purpose is to confirm the conversation between the Thomas representative and the distributor. The exceptions--the letters to Adkins and Lonergan--were each mailed four days after the effective date of the distributorship and therefore implicitly meant to confirm the earlier conversations. Each letter refers to the distributor's territory in geographic terms and the effective date of the distributorship. The second paragraph of each states, in almost identical terms 23 It is understood that we do not assign territory on a permanent basis, and our decision to continue to ship products for your distribution is contingent upon our satisfaction with this arrangement in the future. 24 The letters go on to detail discussions of sales commissions, returns of stale product, retail prices, and ordering requirements. Almost all set forth the manufacturer's requirement that its products be displayed only on the fresh bread counters, never in frozen food cabinets. Each missive ends with the Thomas representative asking the distributor to call him if there is anything that is not fully understood or if there are any questions. No plaintiffs called.