(a)  This chapter shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its remedial purposes and policies.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 3-13-2

  • Agreement: means any contract, agreement, or arrangement, whether expressed or implied, whether oral or written, for a definite or indefinite period between a supplier and a wholesaler pursuant to which a wholesaler has the right to purchase, resell, and distribute any or all brands of malt beverages offered by the supplier. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-13-1
  • Beverage: means any liquid that either by itself or by mixture with any other liquid or liquids, is, or may become, fit for human consumption as a drink and that contains five-tenths of one per cent (. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-1-1
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Supplier: means any person engaged in business as a brewer, manufacturer, importer, master wholesaler, broker, or agent of malt beverages who enters into an agreement with any wholesaler in this state to distribute any or all of its brands of malt beverages, and any successor-in-interest to that entity with respect to the agreement. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-13-1
  • United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8
  • Wholesaler: means any person licensed to import, or cause to be imported, into this state, or to purchase, or cause to be purchased, in this state, malt beverages for resale or distribution to retailers licensed in this state, and any successor-in-interest to that entity. See Rhode Island General Laws 3-13-1

(b)  The purposes and policies of this chapter are:

(1)  To regulate agreements between suppliers and their wholesalers to benefit the economy and enhance competition in this state and to promote moderation and obedience to the laws of this state and the United States controlling the distribution and sale of malt beverages;

(2)  To protect wholesalers substantial initial and continuing investments of money, time and effort in their distributorships and to stimulate greater investment of those resources in these small businesses by assuring their continuation on a fair, equitable and nondiscriminatory basis;

(3)  To enhance competition in the malt beverage industry by:

(i)  Assuring the wholesaler is free to manage its business enterprise in the manner the wholesaler deems best, including the wholesaler’s right independently to establish its selling prices, to determine the efforts and resources which the wholesaler will exert to promote and develop the sale of a supplier‘s products; and

(ii)  Assuring the public and suppliers that wholesalers will price competitively, devote reasonable efforts and resources to sales of all supplier’s products marketed in this state and maintain satisfactory sales levels.

(4)  To govern all relations between suppliers and their wholesalers, including any renewals to agreements between them, to the full extent consistent with the constitutions of this state and the United States.

(c)  The effect of this chapter may not be varied by agreement. Any agreement purporting to do so is void and unenforceable to that extent only.

History of Section.
P.L. 1982, ch. 415, § 1.