Missouri Laws 407.819 – Successor manufacturer, restrictions on line-make franchise offers — fair ..
1. Notwithstanding any provision in a franchise to the contrary, no successor manufacturer shall, for a period of two years from the date of acquisition of control by that successor manufacturer of a line-make from a predecessor manufacturer, offer a franchise to any person for a line-make of a predecessor manufacturer in any portion of the relevant market area in which the predecessor manufacturer previously cancelled, terminated, noncontinued, failed to renew, or otherwise ended a franchise agreement with a franchisee who had a franchise facility in that relevant market area without first offering the franchise to the former franchisee at no cost, unless:
(1) Within sixty days of the former franchisee’s cancellation, termination, noncontinuance, or nonrenewal, the predecessor manufacturer had consolidated the line-make with another of its line-makes for which the predecessor manufacturer had a franchisee with a then-existing franchise facility in that relevant market area;
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 407.819
- Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
(2) The successor manufacturer has paid the former franchisee the fair market value of the former franchisee’s motor vehicle dealership in accordance with this section;
(3) The predecessor manufacturer successfully terminated the former franchisee under subdivision (5) of section 407.825.
2. For purposes of this section, the fair market value of a former franchisee’s motor vehicle dealership shall be calculated as of the date of the following that yields the highest fair market value: the date the predecessor manufacturer announced the action that resulted in the cancellation, termination, noncontinuance, or nonrenewal; the date the action that resulted in cancellation, termination, noncontinuance, or nonrenewal became final; or the date twelve months prior to the date that the predecessor manufacturer announced the action that resulted in the cancellation, termination, noncontinuance, or nonrenewal.