Lutz

Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Lutz

Good Law

271 F. Supp. 2d 1196·2003 WL 21686412·2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12369

United States District Court, Northern District of CaliforniaJuly 10, 2003C01-3616 MHPCalifornia5,394 words

Opinion

Patel, J.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

re Defendant’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment

Plaintiff Chevron U.S.A., Inc., (“Chevron”) brought this action for termination of defendant James Lutz’s franchise under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (“PMPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 2801 et seq., on grounds that defendant James Lutz (“Lutz”) failed to maintain records required by the franchise lease agreement and failed to comply with state and federal tax laws in violation of the lease agreement and the PMPA. Now before the court is defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of his intent to file incorrect tax returns. Having considered the arguments presented, and for the reasons set forth below, the court rules as follows.

BACKGROUND

For the past 34 years, James Lutz has operated the Chevron station at 1440 East Washington Boulevard in Petaluma, California (the “service station”) as a franchisee for Chevron. James Lutz Dec. ¶ 2. James Lutz’s son, Dan Lutz, is employed as manager of the service station. Dan Lutz Dec. ¶2. Tim Lutz, James Lutz’s eldest son, works as an certified public accountant for an accounting firm in San Jose, California. Tim Lutz Dec. ¶ 2. For the past twenty years,…

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