Millett v. Union Oil Company Of California

24 F.3d 10 62 USLW 2717 Dick MILLETT; Pat Waters; Don Zeller; David Van Meter; Robert Kalbfleisch, individuals, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. UNION OIL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA, a foreign corporation dba UNOCAL 76, Defendant-Appellee. No. 92-36883. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted March 8, 1994. Decided May 12, 1994. David S. Shannon, Shannon, Johnson & Bailey, Portland, OR, for plaintiffs-appellants. Jeffrey C. Wishko, Bell & Ingram, Everett, WA, for defendant-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Before HUG, HALL and THOMPSON, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge HALL. CYNTHIA HOLCOMB HALL, Circuit Judge: 1 Appellants were franchisees of entities owned by Appellee Union Oil Company of California ("Unocal"). Appellants argue that they are entitled to the goodwill value of their auto repair franchises because Unocal failed to give them the required notice of nonrenewal mandated by the Washington Franchise Investment Protection Act ("FIPA"). The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Unocal, concluding that the FIPA's one-year notice requirement was preempted by the ninety-day…