SymQuest, a former authorised retail dealer for Canon USA, has been denied its request for an injunction requiring the OEM to keep providing spare printer parts and consumable supplies.
The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York decided to allow the OEM to fulfil its “long-standing policy” of terminating partnerships with retail dealers, after SymQuest was bought out by Konica Minolta in June 2015.
Canon reported that SymQuest had claimed Canon’s decision to terminate the agreement “wrongfully interfered with SymQuest’s ability to service its customers’ machines”.
US Magistrate Judge Stephen I. Locke said that the dealer agreement justified in “clear and ambiguous” terms Canon’s decision to terminate dealings with the company. The federal court maintained that SymQuest had not shown it was “likely to suffer irreparable harm”, denying the request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
SymQuest provides business equipment to north New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. It also resells MFPs from Kyocera, Konica Minolta and HP.
Seymour Liebman, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer of Canon USA, commented: “We are gratified that the court has upheld our contractual right to terminate sales and service support to retail dealers that have been acquired by a competitor.”