Cartwright v. Fuji Photo Film USA Inc.

The trial court's application of the relation-back statute did not violate the defendants' constitutional right to be sued in the county where they reside.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

In this case arising from an alleged breach of contract and fraudulent transfer of funds, defendants Robert and Mindy Cartwright appeal from an order of the State Court of Fulton County denying their motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, transfer the case to Taylor County.1 The Cartwrights contend that the trial court erred in ruling that Fulton County was the proper venue for the complaint, given that they are residents of Taylor County. For the following reasons, we affirm. “The denial of a motion to transfer is reviewed for an abuse of discretion, and we will affirm the trial court’s findings on disputed factual questions relating to venue if there is any evidence to support them. But we review de novo the trial court’s application of the law to undisputed facts.” Citations omitted. HD Supply v. Garger , 299 Ga. App. 751 683 SE2d 671 2009. The record on appeal shows the following facts.

In 1993, Daniel Schooler, Timothy Schooler, and The Schooler Group, Inc. collectively, “the Schoolers” and Fuji Photo Film USA, Inc. “Fuji” verbally agreed to an arrangement under which the Schoolers agreed to assist Fuji in seeking an account with the Eckerd Drug Store chain. According to the Schoolers, several unidentified officers of Fuji promised them that, if they assisted Fuji in obtaining the Eckerd account, Fuji would pay them a three percent brokerage commission on the account for at least seven years. In 2000, a Fuji vice president, Robert Cartwright one of the appellants, executed a “Food and Drug Broker Agreement” “broker agreement” with the Schoolers; the broker agreement provided that the Schoolers would, in fact, receive a three percent commission on all purchase orders from Fuji’s newly-acquired Eckerd account. Instead of guaranteeing those commissions for seven years, however, the broker agreement stated that it was terminable at any time by either party with 30 days written notice. It also contained an “entire agreement” clause stating that it superseded all previous oral or written agreements between the parties.

Cartwright v. Fuji Photo Film USA Inc.

The trial court's application of the relation-back statute did not violate the defendants' constitutional right to be sued in the county where they reside.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report