Case Problem with Sample Answer National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. (NASCAR), sanctions stock car races. NASCAR and Sprint Nextel Corp.

agreed that Sprint would become the Offi cial Series Sponsor of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series in 2004. The agreement granted sponsorship exclusivity to Sprint and contained a list of “Competitors” who were barred from sponsoring Series’s events. Excepted were existing sponsorships: in “Driver and Car Owner Agreements” between NASCAR and the cars’ owners, NASCAR promised to “preserve and protect” those sponsorships, which could continue and be renewed despite Sprint’s exclusivity. RCR Team #31, LLC, owns the #31 Car in the Series. Cingular Wireless, LLC, a Sprint competitor, had been

#31 Car’s primary sponsor since 2001. In 2007, Cingular changed its name to AT&T Mobility, LLC, and proposed a new paint scheme for the #31 Car that called for the Cingular logo to remain on the hood while the AT&T logo would be added on the rear quarter panel. NASCAR rejected the proposal.

AT&T fi led a suit in a federal district court against NASCAR, claiming, in part, that NASCAR was in breach of its “Driver and Car Owner Agreement” with RCR. Can AT&T maintain an action against NASCAR based on this agreement? Explain.

[AT&T Mobility, LLC v. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., 487 F.Supp.2d 1370 (N.D.Ga. 2007)]

—After you have answered Problem 13–6, compare your answer with the sample answer given on the Web site that accompanies this text. Go to www.cengage.com/blaw/blt, select “Chapter 13,” and click on “Case Problem with Sample Answer.”