NEWBURY PARK, Calif. (BRAIN) — John Thompson, Giant Bicycle’s executive director, told Giant retailers that recent coverage by BRAIN of a lawsuit involving Giant and a former Tampa, Fla., retailer fails to accurately account for what happened in the case.
“First, there are two sides to every story. While the recent articles made reference to allegations set forth in the complaint and other documents, the articles failed to highlight hours of testimony given by several Giant staff in depositions in the case,” said Thompson, in an email sent to dealers this week.
“Second, and most important, we want to assure you that the picture presented by the media coverage of this case is not the way Giant Bicycle does business. We sincerely hope you agree,” Thompson said.
A federal jury concluded in early September that Giant had fraudulently induced Francis Kane, owner of Flying Fish Bikes, to order $120,000 worth of inventory in September 2012, while it was quietly working with another dealer to open up a Giant Partner Store less than two miles from Kane’s operation.
Kane placed the order in September and was officially terminated as a Giant dealer Jan. 8, 2013.
The jury awarded Kane $250,000 in damages and $3 million in punitive damages after less than an hour of deliberation. Giant had requested a jury trial in the dispute. U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday, in a separate decision made at trial, ruled that Kane still owed Giant approximately $109,000 for the order he had placed.
Giant’s attorney, Sheldon Warren, said he plans to file appeals seeking a new trial and will also ask the court to vacate the jury verdict.
Thompson, in his letter, said, “We believe an accurate accounting of those depositions would present a clearer picture of what actually happened in this situation. But, again, because the litigation is ongoing, Giant simply cannot comment further at this time.”
There are more than 1,000 pages of testimony contained in a series of depositions taken prior to the trial. For example, Kane’s deposition is 318 pages long; Thompson’s is 230 pages in length; the deposition of Elysa Walk, Giant’s general manager, is 119 pages long; and Geoff Godsey, Giant’s regional sales manager, was deposed for hours to compile a 382-page document.
Several others deposed included expert witnesses as to Kane’s financial status, and several of Kane’s employees. Bicycle Retailer has reviewed and has copies of all relevant documents in the case including an affidavit from a former Giant employee, Gregg Frederick, warning the company to not seek an order from Kane. Frederick had been working with Outspokin’, a Clearwater, Fla., retailer to open a competing store near Kane’s operation.
Giant, in defending Kane’s allegations, maintained that the business relationship with Kane was controlled by its non-exclusive Dealer Agreement; that the Dealer Agreement contained no geographical or non-compete restrictions, nor did the Dealer Agreement require either Kane or Giant to disclose confidential dealings with a third party.
Giant’s attorneys also maintained that the relationship with Kane was that of a “distributor and retailer” with no fiduciary duty owed by either. “Thus, Giant did not have a duty to disclose to (Flying Fish) Bikes its confidential business dealings with other existing authorized Giant retailers and (Flying Fish) Bikes had no right to know of those confidential dealings,” Giant’s attorneys, Nhan T. Lee and Sergio Medina, argued in their filings with the court.
Thompson, in his letter, told Giant dealers that they have a “mutual interest in success and we need to work together to create a thriving and sustainable relationship” regardless of the outcome of this case.
