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United States · Bill · S

S. 1256 (97th)

Retail Dealers Agreement Act

openUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

21 May 1981

Last action

28 June 1982 · Committee

Status

Committee on Judiciary. Hearings held.

Sponsors

Sen. Exon, J. James [D-NE], Sen. Ford, Wendell H. [D-KY], Sen. Cannon, Howard W. [D-NV], Sen. Heflin, Howell [D-AL], Sen. Pressler, Larry [R-SD], Sen. Kassebaum, Nancy Landon [R-KS], Sen. Hollings, Ernest F. [D-SC], Sen. Cochran, Thad [R-MS], Sen. Glenn, John H., Jr. [D-OH], Sen. Bumpers, Dale [D-AR], Sen. Bradley, Bill [D-NJ], Sen. Huddleston, Walter (Dee) [D-KY]

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

10 August 2026

Official sourceView documentsShare

Summary

Retail Dealers' Agreement Act - Makes it a violation of this Act for any supplier of office products to: (1) induce a dealer in such products to enter into a dealer agreement by fraud; (2) fail to act in good faith in performing, canceling, terminating, or refusing to renew a dealer agreement; or (3) enter into a dealer agreement whereby the dealer will conduct business in a market area which is already the market area of another dealer without providing 60 days notice to the existing dealer. Requires a Federal district court to determine the propriety of the proposed dealership in accordance with specified guidelines in the event the existing dealer objects to its establishment. Includes among such guidelines: (1) whether the additional dealership is warranted by current economic and marketing conditions; (2) the permanency of the investment of the objecting dealer; and (3) whether the objecting dealer is providing adequate competition and sales, convenient service, and adequate facilities, equipment, and parts. Stipulates that the desire for further market penetration shall not in itself justify the establishment of a new dealership. Authorizes a dealer to bring an action against a supplier in Federal district court for damages, equitable relief, and attorney fees and other costs. Permits an award of treble damages for willful violations. Stipulates that this Act shall not be construed to modify any provision of the antitrust laws.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 21 May 1981

    Introduced

    Read second time and referred to Senate Committee on Judiciary.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 21 May 1981

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

  3. 9 September 1981

    Introduced

    Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce by unanimous consent jointly.

    Source: IntroReferral

  4. 9 September 1981

    Referred

    Referred to Subcommittee on Business, Trade, and Tourism.

    Source: Committee

  5. 29 October 1981

    Committee

    Subcommittee on Business, Trade, and Tourism. Hearings held.

    Source: Committee

  6. 10 December 1981

    Reported

    Committee on Commerce. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

    Source: Committee

  7. 28 June 1982

    Committee

    Committee on Judiciary. Hearings held.

    Source: Committee

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

1 official file

Leesvertaling

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Sponsors

Related records

Sources

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