[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Tuesday ruled [opinion, PDF] unanimously in Mac's Shell Service, Inc. v. Shell Oil Products Co. [Cornell LII backgrounder; JURIST report] that a service station operator cannot recover for constructive termination under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (PMPA) [15 USC § 2801-2806 text] when the operator continues to run the franchise with the same trademark, fuel, and premises. The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed [opinion, PDF] a district court ruling that a franchise could recover for constructive termination even if it continues to use the same trademark, fuel, and premises. The First Circuit also reversed the district ruling on constructive non-renewal of an agreement, holding that a franchisee faced with an unlawful lease has to either sign the lease and forgo any potential actions under the act or refuse to sign and bring a challenge to it after receiving a notice of non-renewal. Partially reversing the decision below, Justice Samuel Alito wrote:

We hold that a franchisee cannot recover for constructive termination under the PMPA if the franchisor's allegedly wrongful conduct did not compel the franchisee to abandon its franchise. Additionally, we conclude that a franchisee who signs and operates under a renewal agreement with a franchisor may not maintain a claim for constructive nonrenewal.