When it comes to with child American feuds , there ’s Hamilton and Burr , Hatfield and McCoy , and , of class , Cardi and Nicki .
certain , some of the most famous disputes in history have been settle down in all kinds of ways — with pistols , slaying and , yes , even whang battles . But the in truth American way of address big bitch is to hand them over to lawyers and drop behind them into the motor lodge .
Thelegal tusslethat take blank space betweenHenry Fordand brothers John and Horace Dodge helped mold theauto industryas we know it . The feud also laid the groundwork for how judges , even today , look at the relationships of businesses with their shareowner , employees and competitors .
" The number one reason that type is cited is for Ford supposedly want to do properly by his worker , " says Marc Hodak , an assistant prof in New York University ’s business school . " The idea that he was really trying to squeeze out the Dodge comrade is something that ’s often lost . "
There is no Henry Ford without John and Horace Dodge . And there is no Dodge v. Ford Motor Co. if a once formidable partnership had n’t devolved into infighting for a peg up on the burgeon American automobile grocery store .
Competitive Juices
Ford and Dodge are some of the most iconic names in U.S. gondola making history . It flex out that the guy cable behind both blade take up out on the same side .
The Dodge crony — an unruly pair known in Detroit for their red hair , drink prowess and kinship for knocking people out dusty in bar bash — got pop out in the car business in 1900 , build Oldsmobile contagion .
Just a few long time later , they were the principal supplier and outside machinists forFord Motor ’s Model A , the company ’s first automobile . They also ponied up a magnanimous part of the $ 28,000 that investor gave to Henry Ford to get started . That investment soon pay off : Ford Motor plough a $ 37,000 net income less than three month after sell the first Model A , the fellowship said .
But the Dodges had bigger architectural plan . They used theDodge Brothers Motor Companybanner in 1914 to launch their own elevator car , the Model 30 - 35 . The fomite was intended to vie directly with the Ford Model T.
Henry Ford did n’t take kindly to the new contention . He made a pair of critical movement to attempt to take the wind out of Dodge ’s sail . Ford block off compensate dividend to the Dodge brothers and other investor . Then , he slash near two - thirds off of the Mary Leontyne Price ticket on his car .
The Dodge pal were the " primary target , " Hodak say , " but Ford did n’t want any shareholders . He regard stockholder to be leech . "
Court Battle Offers Mixed Result
The ensuing legal battle — the Dodges quickly action Ford — finally found its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court . The case is often described as a win for the Dodges , but Hodak and some legal expert say that ’s only half the story .
The judicature bear on an order place Ford to pay a dividend to the Dodge brothers and other shareholders . In doing so , it rejected Ford ’s claim that he want to reinvest the money to bolster up the company ’s production and boost workers ' wages .
The decision is often mention for the legal theory of " shareowner mastery , " or that commercial enterprise should maximize earnings for the benefit of shareholders .
" A concern corp is organized and carried on primarily for the net of the stockholder , " Judge Russell Ostrander wrote for the court . " The great power of the film director are to be employed for that terminal . "
But the court also acknowledged another important legal possibility , commonly referred to as the " business sagacity rule . " That principal assumes that bodied director by and large act in the best sake of the company and have wide tolerance to do so , as long as their moves are reasonable . The motor inn summons it in rejecting the dodging ' endeavour to block Ford from expanding his factory .
" The judges are not line experts , " Ostrander wrote . " It is recognise that program must often be made for a retentive future , for anticipate contention , for a continuing as well as an directly profitable speculation . The experience of the Ford Motor Company is evidence of capable direction of its affair . "
Ford may have had that part of the decision in judgment when he made his next move against the Dodges . After the court ruling , Ford announced he was selling the society to his boy . He also planted a rumor that he might begin a fresh car business , driving down the value of the ploughshare in Ford Motor Co.
That was enough to spook the Dodges and other investor , who sold their shares back to the Ford family .
