Mussetter Distributing, Inc. v. Dbi Beverage Inc.

ORDER RE CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Presently before the court are the motions for summary judgment by plaintiff Mussetter Distributing, Inc., defendant DBI Beverage, Inc., and intervenor MillerCoors LLC. The motions have been submitted for decision on the papers without oral argument. The court has considered the papers submitted by the parties and the amicus curiae papers submitted by California Beer and Beverage Distributors, and for good cause appearing for the reasons set forth below, plaintiffs motion is denied, defendant DBI’s motion is granted, and intervenor MillerCoors’ motion is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

Mussetter Distributing is the existing distributor under a contract with Miller Brewing Company. Miller and Coors Brewing Company subsequently formed a joint venture, MillerCoors LLC, and Miller assigned to MillerCoors the rights to its brands and the distribution contract at issue in this case. On September 2, 2008, MillerCoors issued a notice of intent to terminate the distributor agreement under California Business and Professions Code Section 25000.2 and designated DBI Beverage as the new distributor within the territory. Section 25000.2 is a statute adopted…