Legal Question in Business Law in Wisconsin

''Exclusive Rights''

Our organization has a service contract with a waste hauling company. In the terms and conditions of the contract, it states that the hauling company shall have the exclusive right to collect and dispose of our trash and recycable materials. Our waste hauling company currently charges us to remove our recyclable items, ie: office paper, cardbaord and mixed paper.

We were approached by a local recycling company and they are interseted in picking up our recycalbe material at no charge and will pay a rebate on some of the material.

My questions is: Do we have to continue to pay our waste hauler to remove our recycables and would we be in breach of our agreement if we decided to have the recycling company pick-up our recycables and possibly pay us for the material?

Do we own the recycables because they are a commodity with a dollar value associated with them? Or do we have to continue our agreement with our waste hauler?

Can we move forward with the recycling company in any way without breaching our current contract with our waste hauler?

Thank you in advance for you assistance and professional opinion.


Asked on 4/17/03, 5:28 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Thomas Schober Schober Schober & Mitchell, S.C.

Re: ''Exclusive Rights''

You need to follow the language in your contract to be sure you do not break the contract. You mention the word "exclusive." It would be interesting to see the context in which that word is being used. Some of the other things you said have been used in the past to argue that the recycleables aren't waste, but a commodity of value. However, if your contract is clear, that would become meaningless. I would suggest you have an attorney look at the exact language of your contract and advise you accordingly.

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Answered on 4/21/03, 2:48 pm
Mark Mahoney Cassiani Law Office, Wise Shepherd Law Office

Re: ''Exclusive Rights''

Hello,

Unfortunately, it is impossible in this case to give you a legal opinion without reading the contract. Even an extra word or two, that you may not identify, can make a big difference in the outcome. The main question is whether you can get out of the contract and more all your business to someone else. Another question concerns what the consequences would be if you cant get out the contract, but go ahead and make the change anyway. Would the penalty for breaching the contract be larger than the savings from making the change? How long of a time period does the contract provide...when does it run out?

These and other things one can only determine by looking the contract, and then talking to you about pros and cons of your options. I am not sure where you are located, but it is likely this could be done efficiently by mail and phone.

If you want to pursue this, do not hesitate to call. Mark J. Mahoney 920-984-4529

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Answered on 4/18/03, 9:44 am


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