Autohaus Brugger, Inc. v. Saab Motors, Inc., and Saab-Scania of America, Inc.

In this case Autohaus Brugger, Inc. (Au-tohaus),- a franchised automobile dealer, brought suit against Saab Motors, Inc. (Saab), alleging breach of their franchise agreement and violation of the Automobile Dealers Day in Court Act [15 U.S.C. ■§§ 1221-1225], The jury found in favor of Autohaus and awarded $200,000 in damages. The trial court denied Saab’s post-trial motions for judgment n. o. v., directed verdict, and new trial. Saab appeals. Because we find the evidence wholly insufficient to support either a breach of contract claim or a violation of the Dealers Day in Court Act, we reverse.

15 U.S.C. § 1222 allowed the dealer to bring his action in the district court below. Our jurisdiction rests with 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

BACKGROUND

Autohaus is an automobile dealership located in Redwood City, California, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brugger Marketing Systems (BMS). Hubert Brugger is the President-of Autohaus, as well as the majority shareholder of BMS. Autohaus came into existence in 1965 and had, at that time, one store (a dealership selling point) which was located in Palo Alto, California. At that time it sold and serviced only Mercedes Benz automobiles. In 1968,…