Florida Statutes 320.3205 – Termination, cancellation, and nonrenewal of a manufacturer/dealer agreement
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(1) A manufacturer or distributor, directly or through any officer, agent, or employee, may not terminate, cancel, or fail to renew a manufacturer/dealer agreement without good cause, and, upon renewal, may not require additional inventory stocking requirements or increased retail sales targets in excess of the market growth in the dealer’s area of sales responsibility.
(a) The manufacturer or distributor has the burden of showing good cause for terminating, canceling, or failing to renew a manufacturer/dealer agreement with a dealer. For purposes of determining whether there is good cause for the proposed action, any of the following factors may be considered:
1. The extent of the affected dealer’s penetration in the relevant market area.
2. The nature and extent of the dealer’s investment in its business.
3. The adequacy of the dealer’s service facilities, equipment, parts, supplies, and personnel.
4. The effect of the proposed action on the community.
5. The extent and quality of the dealer’s service under recreational vehicle warranties.
6. The failure to follow agreed-upon procedures or standards related to the overall operation of the dealership.
7. The dealer’s performance under the terms of its manufacturer/dealer agreement.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 320.3205
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
- Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
- writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a manufacturer or distributor shall provide a dealer with at least 120 days’ prior written notice of termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal of the manufacturer/dealer agreement.
1. The notice must state all reasons for the proposed termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal and must further state that if, within 30 days following receipt of the notice, the dealer provides to the manufacturer or distributor a written notice of intent to cure all claimed deficiencies, the dealer will then have 120 days following receipt of the notice to rectify the deficiencies. If the deficiencies are rectified within 120 days, the manufacturer’s or distributor’s notice is voided. If the dealer fails to provide the notice of intent to cure the deficiencies in the prescribed time period, the termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal takes effect 30 days after the dealer’s receipt of the notice unless the dealer has new and untitled inventory on hand that may be disposed of pursuant to subsection (3).
2. The notice period may be reduced to 30 days if the grounds for termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal are due to:
a. A dealer or one of its owners being convicted of, or entering a plea of nolo contendere to, a felony;
b. The abandonment or closing of the business operations of the dealer for 10 consecutive business days unless the closing is due to an act of God, strike, labor difficulty, or other cause over which the dealer has no control;
c. A significant misrepresentation by the dealer materially affecting the business relationship; or
d. A suspension or revocation of the dealer’s license, or refusal to renew the dealer’s license, by the department.
3. The notice provisions of this paragraph do not apply if the reason for termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal is insolvency, the occurrence of an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or bankruptcy.
(2) A dealer may terminate, cancel, or not renew its manufacturer/dealer agreement with a manufacturer or distributor with or without cause at any time by giving 30 days’ written notice to the manufacturer. If the termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal is for cause, the dealer has the burden of showing good cause. Any of the following items shall be deemed good cause for the proposed action by a dealer:
(a) A manufacturer being convicted of, or entering a plea of nolo contendere to, a felony.
(b) The business operations of the manufacturer have been abandoned or closed for 10 consecutive business days, unless the closing is due to an act of God, strike, labor difficulty, or other cause over which the manufacturer has no control.
(c) A significant misrepresentation by the manufacturer materially affecting the business relationship.
(d) A material violation of ss. 320.3201–320.3211 which is not cured within 30 days after written notice by the dealer.
(e) A declaration by the manufacturer of bankruptcy, insolvency, or the occurrence of an assignment for the benefit of creditors or bankruptcy.
(3) If the manufacturer/dealer agreement is terminated, canceled, or not renewed by the manufacturer or distributor without cause or by the dealer for cause, the manufacturer shall, at the election of the dealer and within 45 days after termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal, repurchase:
(a) All new, untitled recreational vehicles that were acquired from the manufacturer or distributor within 18 months before the date of the notice of termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal that have not been used, except for demonstration purposes, and that have not been altered or damaged, at 100 percent of the net invoice cost, including transportation, less applicable rebates and discounts to the dealer. If any of the vehicles repurchased is damaged, the amount due to the dealer shall be reduced by the cost to repair the damaged vehicle. Damage prior to delivery to the dealer will not disqualify repurchase under this subsection;
(b) All undamaged accessories and proprietary parts sold to the dealer for resale within the 12 months prior to termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal, if accompanied by the original invoice, at 105 percent of the original net price paid to the manufacturer or distributor to compensate the dealer for handling, packing, and shipping the parts; and
(c) Any properly functioning diagnostic equipment, special tools, current signage, and other equipment and machinery at 100 percent of the dealer’s net cost plus freight, destination, delivery, and distribution charges and sales taxes, if any, if it was purchased by the dealer within 5 years before termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal and upon the manufacturer’s or distributor’s request and can no longer be used in the normal course of the dealer’s ongoing business.
The manufacturer or distributor shall pay the dealer within 30 days after receipt of the returned items.
(4) When taking on an additional line-make of recreational vehicle, a dealer shall notify in writing any manufacturer with whom the dealer has a manufacturer/dealer agreement of the same line-make at least 30 days prior to entering into a manufacturer/dealer agreement with the manufacturer of the additional line-make.