Key Issues:

• Dispute over termination of liquor agency agreements for the distribution of Benriach Brands in Western Canada and Ontario.
• Allegations of improper retention of inventory by Authentic and Charton-Hobbs post-agreement termination, hindering Brown-Forman's sales.
• Claims of failure to provide proper notice for termination and breaches of good faith in contractual performance.

Judgment Findings:

• Inventory Issues: The court found that the retention of inventory by Authentic and Charton-Hobbs post-termination was a breach of contract and duty of good faith.
• Notice for Termination: The court determined that Benriach failed to provide reasonable notice for termination of the Western Canada Agreement, which should have been six months.
• Contractual Performance: Authentic was found to have breached its duty of good faith in the performance of post-termination contractual obligations by retaining inventory for an improper purpose.

Damages:

• Authentic’s calculated damages were $100,259.50, while Benriach’s damages were assessed at $846,248.40, reflecting losses due to the inability to sell products and market interruptions.

Successful Party: The case resulted in a mixed outcome:

• Brown-Forman Corporation and Benriach Distillery Company Limited were successful in part, especially regarding claims related to the wrongful retention of inventory by Charton-Hobbs and Authentic Wine & Spirits Merchants Inc., which was seen as a breach of good faith contractual performance.
• Charton-Hobbs and Authentic Wine & Spirits Merchants Inc. were also partially successful, particularly concerning the claims related to the failure to provide appropriate notice in the termination of contracts, which they argued was not done in good faith.