Cases & Deals

Goodyear prevails in long-running dealer termination dispute

Client(s) Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems, LLC

Jones Day obtained the dismissal of a long-running lawsuit filed by a California distributor challenging The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's termination of its dealer contracts as breaches of contracts, tortious interference, and violations of California unfair competition and federal antitrust law. The case was transferred to federal court in Ohio after three courts rejected the distributor's efforts to avoid the forum selection clause in its contracts "by ... repeated[ly] filing, dismissing, and refilling [its action], all the while making minor 'tweaks' to the complaint in an obvious effort to proceed in a non-contractual forum of its choice." The Ohio court dismissed all of the claims in the distributor's final complaint, except for two narrow breach of contract claims, which the distributor promptly agreed to dismiss voluntarily with prejudice, completing Goodyear's victory.

Morgan Tire of Sacramento, Inc. v. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, et al., No. 5:15-cv-02134-SL (N.D. Ohio)