Rhode Island § 3-13-2 - Malt Beverage Supplier-Wholesaler Agreements

§ 3-13-2. Purposes — Construction — Variation by contract prohibited.

(a) This chapter shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its remedial purposes and policies.

(b) The purposes and policies of this chapter are:

(1) To regulate agreements between suppliers and their wholesalers to benefit the economy and enhance competition in this state and to promote moderation and obedience to the laws of this state and the United States controlling the distribution and sale of malt beverages;

(2) To protect wholesalers substantial initial and continuing investments of money, time and effort in their distributorships and to stimulate greater investment of those resources in these small businesses by assuring their continuation on a fair, equitable and nondiscriminatory basis;

(3) To enhance competition in the malt beverage industry by:

(i) Assuring the wholesaler is free to manage its business enterprise in the manner the wholesaler deems best, including the wholesaler’s right independently to establish its selling prices, to determine the efforts and resources which the wholesaler will exert to promote and develop the sale of a supplier’s products; and

(ii) Assuring the public and suppliers that wholesalers will price competitively, devote reasonable efforts and resources to sales of all supplier’s products marketed in this state and maintain satisfactory sales levels.

(4) To govern all relations between suppliers and their wholesalers, including any renewals to agreements between them, to the full extent consistent with the constitutions of this state and the United States.

(c) The effect of this chapter may not be varied by agreement. Any agreement purporting to do so is void and unenforceable to that extent only.