Montana Code 30-11-906. Procedure to determine right to succeed
30-11-906. Procedure to determine right to succeed. (1) A designated family member or designated successor who receives notice of the grantor‘s refusal to honor succession to the ownership and operation of the dealership may, within the 60-day period provided for in 30-11-905, file with the department a verified complaint for a hearing and determination by the department on whether good cause exists for refusal and discontinuance.
Terms Used In Montana Code 30-11-906
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Dealership: means a contract or agreement, expressed or implied, whether oral or written, including a franchise as defined in 61-4-201, by which a person is granted the right to sell or distribute construction equipment, in which there is a community of interest in the business of offering, selling, or distributing construction equipment. See Montana Code 30-11-901
- Department: means the department of labor and industry established in 2-15-1701. See Montana Code 30-11-901
- Designated family member: means the spouse, child, grandchild, parent, brother, or sister of a dealer. See Montana Code 30-11-901
- Designated successor: means a person designated in writing by the retiring dealer to succeed in the dealership or, in the case of an incapacitated dealer, a person appointed by a court as the legal representative of the dealer's property or the appointed and qualified personal representative and the testamentary trustee of a deceased dealer. See Montana Code 30-11-901
- Good cause: when used in 30-11-902, 30-11-903, and 30-11-909, means:
(i)failure by a dealer to comply substantially with essential and reasonable requirements imposed upon the dealer by the grantor or sought to be imposed by the grantor, which requirements are not discriminatory as compared with requirements imposed on other similarly situated dealers either by the terms of the requirements or in the manner of their enforcement; or
(ii)bad faith by the dealer in carrying out the terms of the dealership. See Montana Code 30-11-901
- Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
- Grantor: means a person who grants a dealership. See Montana Code 30-11-901
(2)The grantor shall establish good cause for refusal to honor the succession to ownership.
(3)The franchise agreement must continue in effect until the final determination of the issues raised in the complaint.
(4)If the grantor prevails, the department shall include in its order approving the termination of the franchise agreement reasonable conditions affording the complainant an opportunity to receive fair and reasonable compensation for the value of the dealership.
(5)Any decision by the department may be reviewed pursuant to Title 2, chapter 4, part 7.