Legal Question in Business Law in Florida

Restriction of trade?
I have a business where I provide passenger gifts for people who are going on cruise ships. We are licensed to sell wine & beer. We have been in business for 17 years. Today one of the cruiselines decided to not allow any of our gift packages on board that contain akcohol. The original memo (which i was not able to get) stated it was because they wanted to keep the revenue for themselves. The letter that i received states that their guests were trying to get around their rules of not allowing passengers to bring wine on aboard themselves. They have accepted our gifts for 17 years & acdept a $5 per item receiving fee. At no point prior have they refused any gift & have cashed our checks for the fees. This action will put us out of business, I have already had to refund thousands of dollars to customers & have thousands more that will need to be refunded. Is this legal? Do I have any recourse? Thank you in advance for your response

Asked on 8/21/07, 1:42 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Scott R. Jay Law Offices of Scott R. Jay

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Re: Restriction of trade?

NOTE: This communication is not intended as and should not be interpreted as legal advice. Rather, it is intended solely as a general discussion of legal principles. You should not rely on or take action based on this communication without first presenting ALL relevant details to a competent attorney in your jurisdiction and then receiving the attorney's individualized advice for you. By reading the "Response" to your question or comment, you agree that the opinion expressed is not intended to, nor does it, create any attorney-client relationship, nor does it constitute legal advice to any person reviewing such information, nor will it be considered an attorney-client privileged communication. If you do not agree, then stop right here, and do not read any further.

There is no law covering the delivery of gifts to cruiseships. If the cruise line decides to ban outside deliveries, I would imagine they can. You might wish to try to renegotiate your deal with the cruiseline. Perhaps a larger payment might change their minds. Alternatively, join together with other similar business and challenge them in court. Frankly, if one cruiseline follows this policy and is not challenged, others will probably soon follow.

Scott R. Jay, Esq.

Answered on 8/21/07, 1:48 pm

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Robert Roemer Robert Roemer

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Re: Restriction of trade?

If this is going to impact your company this much I would suggest you send me an e-mail with your phone number so I can call you.It is possible you might have legal rights that you and the cruise ships are not aware exist.

Answered on 8/21/07, 2:10 pm

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