Denis McCormick v. Merlo S.p.A. Industria Metalmeccanica

── Denis McCormick v. Merlo S.p.A. Industria Metalmeccanica ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: April 14, 2026 Category: General NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 26a0166n.06 Case No. 25-1679 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Apr 14, 2026 ) KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk DENIS MCCORMICK and ) FARM2DAY, LLC, ) Plaintiffs-Appellants, ) ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES ) DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN v. ) ) DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN ) MERLO S.P.A. INDUSTRIA OPINION ) METALMECCANICA and MERLO ) AMERICA, LLC, ) Defendants-Appellees. ) Before: MOORE, THAPAR, and MATHIS, Circuit Judges. THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Denis McCormick sold and distributed farm equipment produced by Merlo, an Italian manufacturer. McCormick initially partnered with an American distributor to sell Merlo equipment in several midwestern states. In 2023, however, Merlo ended its partnership with the distributor and set up its own subsidiary in the United States. Based on his conversations with a Merlo representative, McCormick believed he would work with Merlo’s new American subsidiary to continue distributing equipment. But instead of partnering with McCormick, Merlo cut him out of the supply chain altogether. McCormick sued for tortious interference with a business relationship and violation of a Michigan law protecting farm-equipment dealers. The district court dismissed both claims and No. 25-1679, McCormick v. Merlo S.p.A. Industria Metalmeccanica denied McCormick’s request to amend. We reverse the dismissal of his tortious-interference claim but affirm the rest. I. Merlo S.p.A. Industria Metalmeccanica (Merlo) is an Italian company that manufactures and sells telehandlers. Telehandlers are motorized hydraulic lifts with aerial booms—a cross between a forklift and crane. To reach American buyers, Merlo partnered with multiple layers of middlemen to market, distribute, and ship its products. Denis McCormick was one such middleman. McCormick operates Farm2Day, LLC (Farm2Day), a Michigan company that he wholly owns and solely runs. Through Farm2Day, McCormick sold Merlo telehandlers to a “dealer network” in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Minnesota. Those dealers, in turn, sold telehandlers directly to buyers in that geographic region. McCormick didn’t deal with Merlo directly—at least, not at first. In 2022, McCormick entered into an Independent Manufacturers Representative Agreement (Representative Agreement) with Applied Machinery Rentals, LLC (AMR).1 At that point, AMR had served as the sole independent “dealer, distributor[,] and importer” of Merlo products in the United States for over ten years. R. 14, Pg. ID 159; see also id. at 199. Under the Representative Agreement, AMR appointed McCormick as its “authorized, exclusive representative to sell and promote” Merlo products in the six states where McCormick had a dealer network. Id. at 182. As payment, McCormick received a 12 percent commission on each machine he sold. To maintain his status as an exclusive dealer, AMR required McCormi