Retsieg Corp. v. Arco Petroleum Products Company, and Does I Through X, Inclusive

Retsieg Corporation appeals the district court’s order of summary judgment in favor of Atlantic Richfield Company (“ARCO”), in Retsieg’s action under 15 U.S.C. §§ 2801-41 (1982) challenging ARCO’s termination of Retsieg’s gasoline franchise for selling non-ARCO gasoline in violation of the franchise agreement. We reverse and remand.

I

In reviewing an order of summary judgment we view the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, Retsieg. See United Steelworkers v. Phelps Dodge Corp., 865 F.2d 1539, 1543 (9th Cir.1989) (en banc). In June 1985, Retsieg entered into franchise agreements with ARCO under which Retsieg operated an ARCO am/pm Mini Market in Monterey, California. Retsieg was authorized to use ARCO trademarks in connection with the sale of “ARCO branded motor fuels.” ARCO, in its response to interrogatories, defined “ARCO branded gas” as “[gjasoline which contains the ARCO additive R-585.” This was not, it seems, a complete answer; ARCO apparently requires specification ranges, for various types of gasoline, between .05 and .12 percent of R-585 by volume, but the record on this material question of fact is not conclusive.

In October 1986, Retsieg began…