Rhode Island § 3-13-6 - Malt Beverage Supplier-Wholesaler Agreements

§ 3-13-6. Transfer of business assets of stock.

(a) No supplier shall, by the terms of an agreement or otherwise, unreasonably withhold or delay approval of any assignment, sale, or transfer of the stock of a wholesaler or all or any portion of a wholesaler’s assets, wholesaler’s voting stock, the voting stock of any parent corporation, or the beneficial ownership or control of any other entity owning or controlling a wholesaler, including the wholesaler’s rights and obligations under the terms of an agreement whenever the person or persons to be substituted meet reasonable and express standards imposed not only upon the wholesaler but upon all other wholesalers of a supplier generally.

(b) Upon the death of one of the partners of a partnership operating the business of a wholesaler, no supplier shall deny the surviving partner or partners of that partnership the right to become a successor-in-interest to the agreement between the supplier and that partnership; provided the survivor has been active in the management of the partnership and is otherwise capable of carrying on the business of the partnership.

(c) A wholesaler shall not transfer or agree to transfer any of its rights and obligations under the terms of any agreement without first giving prior notice to the supplier.