Unterberger

SUMMARY

A beverage distributor in St. Maarten sued a California company, alleging it had a contract for the exclusive right to distribute an energy drink in St. Maarten and adjacent islands, and that the company improperly terminated the contract without good cause. The trial court correctly granted a motion for nonsuit at the close of the distributor’s case, as there was no evidence of an agreement with the California company requiring good cause for the distributor’s termination. Nor was there any error in the trial court’s grant of summary adjudication of the distributor’s claims of fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress in connection with the distributor’s termination.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Dominik and Sabine Unterberger own a company—Holstein Distributors N.V., doing business as Carma Importers (Carma)—that distributes beverages and other items in St. Maarten and other Caribbean islands. In 1999, the Unterbergers approached Red Bull GmbH, an Austrian company (Red Bull Austria), seeking the right to distribute its Red Bull Energy Drink in St. Maarten and nearby islands. At the time, Red Bull Austria had no distributors in the Caribbean.…