Golden Gate Acceptance Corp., and Fred Kohlenberg v. General Motors Corp.

I. FACTS

In January of 1974, appellants Golden Gate Acceptance Corporation, the alleged successor in interest to Kohlenberg Cadillac, Inc. (the “Dealership”), and Fred Kohlenberg (“Kohlenberg”) brought suit against General Motors Corporation (“GM”) stemming from GM’s termination of the Dealership’s Cadillac franchise in February of 1971. Appellants charged that the termination was in violation of (1) the terms of the “Cadillac Dealer Sales and Service Agreement” (“Agreement”) entered into between GM and the Dealership, (2) the Automobile Dealer Franchise Act ( 15 U.S.C. §§ 1221-1225 ), and (3) the Sherman Antitrust Act ( 15 U.S.C. §§ 1 and 2). After two years of discovery by the parties, the district court granted GM’s motion for summary judgment.

The controversy between the parties herein centers upon the attempted relocation of the Dealership from its premises at 1000 Van Ness Avenue (the “Premises”) to nearby locations. GM initially owned the Premises but sold it to Kohlenberg pursuant to a concomitant arrangement whereby a Cadillac franchise was granted to the Dealership, said franchise grant being conditioned upon the continued operation of the Dealership at the Premises.…