In conjunction with the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, BSM Shareholder, Richard Sox, will present an April webinar on sales performance issues.  Mr. Sox will be discussing the renewed frequency of OEM sending sales performance deficiency letters and reports to dealers.  The webinar will address strategies for dealers’ response to allegations of poor sales performance including addressing circumstances out of the dealership’s control.  These circumstances could include a lack of vehicle allocation from the OEM, unique market conditions, unusual interbrand or int ..read more

BSM Shareholders, Richard Sox and Jason Allen, along with BSM Partner, Nick Bader, are participating in FADA’s Roadshows across the State of Florida in April and May.  These Roadshows provide dealer personnel with valuable information related to the latest manufacturer-franchise issues, legislative developments and various compliance issues. The post BSM Attorneys Participating in Florida Automobile Dealer Association Roadshows  appeared first on Bass Sox Mercer | Auto Dealer Franchise Law ..read more

In January of 2020, BSM filed a lawsuit against Ford on behalf of the New Jersey Coalition of Automobile Retailers arguing that Ford’s Lincoln Commitment Program (“LCP”) violated the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act. The LCP provides dealers participating in the Program with a per vehicle incentive not available to dealers who choose not to participate in the Program.  Accordingly, NJCAR contends that the LCP violates New Jersey’s requirement that a manufacturer sell vehicles to all dealers at the same price with no differential in discounts, bonuses, etc. In 2022, the trial court enter ..read more

THE BEGINNINGS OF A MARRIAGE By Andrew G. Thomas As part of two or more individuals (each an investor) forming a new legal entity to own and operate  a franchised dealership, it is important that the investors devote time to the negotiation and preparation of an ownership agreement, such as an operating agreement (in the case of a limited liability company), limited partnership agreement (in the case of a limited partnership) or shareholder buy-sell agreement (in the case of a corporation). One often overlooked, but very important feature, of any ownership agreement is an “escape hatch ..read more

By Micah A. Andrews Seasoned dealers are well familiar with receiving the standard boiler-plate OEM performance letters which periodically summarize (usually incorrectly) the dealership’s recent activities and performance.  The letters typically have the same stock language about ensuring the dealership is “in compliance with your performance obligations under the Dealer Agreement” and language about the performance metrics being the “minimum standard” to meet the dealer’s contractual commitments.  Letters addressing facility standards or service performance often have language about ..read more

By Jason T. Allen As any buyer or seller knows, factory approval of a transaction is necessary to close a deal and can also dictate the timing of the closing.  Most state statutes provide a deadline by which the factory must respond to a submitted buy/sell, which can act as a backstop for the transaction timeline.  However, the timeline can become complicated, or potentially problematic, if the factory also has a deadline to exercise a right of first refusal (ROFR).  This article discusses the ROFR timeline situation and potential ways to mitigate negative impacts on the buy/sel ..read more

Along with Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore, LLP, and Harris Lowry Manton LLP, BSM has been retained by Ginn Motor Company to file a class action lawsuit against General Motors.  The lawsuit, filed in the Federal Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleges that GM has failed to properly reimburse dealers for warranty work performed under GM’s parts exchange program.  Under the parts exchange program, GM requires that dealers submit EV batteries, infotainment systems and other high value components removed from a customer’s vehicle as part of a warranty repair to a third-party v ..read more

Following her time as a law clerk with BSM beginning January of 2022 and passage of the Florida Bar exam in September of last year, Savannah Criado has been appointed as an Associate Attorney.  Savannah will work with BSM’s Franchise Dispute and Litigation team.  In this role, Savannah will assist senior attorneys in representing our dealer clients in various disputes with manufacturers to include Federal, State and administrative litigation matters.  Savannah was born and raised in Miami, Florida. In 2020, she graduated summa cum laude from Florida State University with a Bache ..read more

We are pleased to announce that Logan Parker has been appointed to the position of Partner with BSM.  Logan has worked at BSM since May of 2016, when he was a law clerk while at FSU College of Law.  When he joined the Firm as an Associate Attorney in September of 2017, Logan began working with the Transaction and Corporate Governance team at BSM.  Since that time, Logan has handled countless dealership buy-sell transactions, prepared and filed corporate documents, handled licensing issues and resolved a number of dealership employee garnishment and related matters for our dealer ..read more

By: Jeremiah M. Hawkes  Since the announcement of the Ford Model e program, many dealers have raised concerns regarding the feasibility and legality of the program.  These concerns have led to a number of legal challenges across the United States. Most of these challenges are ongoing and Ford has suffered some setbacks:  In Illinois, the Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board found that Model e Program violated state law by requiring excessive charging stations, exclusive web-based sales, non-negotiable pricing, control of trade-in pricing, and unfair allocation.   In ..read more