Devine & Devine Food Brokers, Inc. v. Wampler Foods, Inc.

HOWARD, Circuit Judge.

Devine & Devine Food Brokers (“De-vine”), a Massachusetts food broker, appeals the district court’s refusal to impute to Wampler Foods, Inc. (‘Wampler”), a Virginia poultry manufacturer, a contractual obligation to pay Devine a substantial severance penalty. Devine contends that Wampler assumed this obligation when Wampler purchased a corporate division from Cuddy Farms, Inc. (“Cuddy”), the entity with whom Devine had negotiated the severance provision. We see no basis for holding Wampler liable for the penalty and accordingly affirm.

I. Background

The genesis of this…