Don Roberts v. Amoco Oil Company

HEANEY, Circuit Judge.

Don Roberts, an Amoco service station franchisee, appeals from a district court order granting summary judgment for Amoco Oil Company. The question posed is whether an offer by a franchisor to sell its service station premises excluding the gasoline pumps, dispensers, storage tanks, piping, or other equipment constitutes a “bona fide offer” under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (PMPA), 15 U.S.C. § 2801 et seq. We hold that such an offer is not “bona fide” as a matter of law, and reverse and remand.

I

We begin by outlining the facts. Because the case comes to us from…