Plaintiff exclusive agent sought review of a judgment from the Superior Court of Los Angeles County (California) in favor of defendants, partnership and its partners, in an action for breach of contract. The exclusive agent contended that the findings of fact were erroneous and did not support the judgment.

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Overview

The exclusive agent and the partnership entered into a contract giving an exclusive agency distributorship for cooking utensils to the exclusive agent in a specified area. The exclusive agent subsequently indicated his intent to get out of the business and sold his entire inventory back to the partnership. The following year, the partnership entered into a promotional program with a national company that resulted in sales in the territory specified in the original contract with the exclusive agent. The exclusive agent then filed suit for damages and an accounting alleging that there was a breach of the exclusive agency contract. The trial court entered judgment for the partnership and the partners. On appeal, the court affirmed the judgment. There was substantial evidence to support the findings of the trial court that the written contract was orally modified and the promotional contract did not constitute a breach of the agreement. The evidence supported the finding that the parties mutually abandoned the basic agreement and there was no evidence indicating that they intended to reserve any rights after abandonment.

Outcome

The court affirmed the judgment from the trial court in favor of the partnership and the partners arising under an exclusive agency agreement with the exclusive agent.