(a)

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 47-25-604

  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Dealer: means any person, firm, corporation, or partnership engaged in the sale of petroleum products to the public at retail. See Tennessee Code 47-25-602
  • Franchise: includes a contract or agreement under which such dealer is granted authority to occupy premises owned, leased, or in any way controlled by a producer or distributor, which premises are to be employed for the sale or distribution of petroleum or related products under the producer or distributor's petroleum trademark, trade name, service mark, or other identifying symbol or name which is controlled by the distributor or producer. See Tennessee Code 47-25-602
  • Producer: means any person, firm, partnership or corporation engaged in the drilling, pumping, importing, refining, or wholesaling of petroleum and related products under a trademark, trade name, service mark, or other identifying symbol or name whether or not such organization distributes such products to dealers. See Tennessee Code 47-25-602
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Vertically integrated producer: means a producer controlling all phases of petroleum production and sale from the well through distribution to dealers as defined herein. See Tennessee Code 47-25-602
(1) Any vertically integrated producer engaged in a franchise agreement with a dealer shall give sixty (60) days’ notice to such dealer prior to termination or nonrenewal of such franchise agreement.
(2) Such notice shall state the date of issuance and termination and the cause for such termination.
(3) The notice provided for in this section shall not be required in emergencies where franchise agreement termination is for cause and the notice requirement would place an unreasonable burden on the vertically integrated producer.
(b) Permissible causes may include, but are not limited to:

(1) Substantial breach of the franchise agreement by the dealer;
(2) Occurrences rendering performance of the franchise agreement impossible, such as the death of either party or the destruction of the retail petroleum outlet premises;
(3) Mutual agreement of the parties; and
(4) Bankruptcy of either party.
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