Montana Code 61-4-216. Administrative hearings and adjudications — procedure
61-4-216. Administrative hearings and adjudications — procedure. (1) A new motor vehicle dealer or transferee of a new motor vehicle dealer who is directly and adversely affected by the action or conduct of a manufacturer, person, or entity described in 61-4-208(1) that is alleged to be in violation of any provision of Montana law, including but not limited to 30-11-701 through 30-11-713, 30-11-717 through 30-11-719, 61-4-131 through 61-4-137, 61-4-150, 61-4-208, and 61-4-213, may seek a declaration and adjudication of rights and obligations with respect to the alleged action or conduct by filing with the department a complaint and request for an administrative hearing that conforms substantially with the requirements of the contested case provisions of the Montana Administrative Procedure Act, Title 2, chapter 4, which governs all matters and procedures respecting the hearing and judicial review of cases such as this. The hearing officer shall assess the department’s costs against the parties or a party as a cost of the action.
Terms Used In Montana Code 61-4-216
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Dealer: means a person that, for commission or profit, engages in whole or in part in the business of buying, selling, exchanging, or accepting on consignment new or used motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, travel trailers, motorboats, sailboats, snowmobiles, off-highway vehicles, or special mobile equipment that is not registered in the name of the person. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Department: means the department of justice acting directly or through its duly authorized officers or agents. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Manufacturer: means a person who manufactures or assembles a line-make of new motor vehicles and distributes them directly or indirectly through one or more distributors to one or more new motor vehicle dealers in this state or who manufactures or installs on previously assembled truck chassis special bodies or equipment that, when installed, forms an integral part of the new motor vehicle and that constitutes a major manufacturing alteration, but does not include a person who installs a camper on a pickup truck. See Montana Code 61-4-201
- Motor vehicle: includes a motorboat and a personal watercraft as defined in 23-2-502, a snowmobile as defined in 23-2-601, and an off-highway vehicle as defined in 23-2-801. See Montana Code 61-4-201
- person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, state agency, local government unit, another state government, the United States, a political subdivision of this or another state, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Montana Code 61-1-101
- Transferee: means a person or entity that:
(a)is in possession or control of a new motor vehicle dealer;
(b)holds an ownership or signed contract interest in a new motor vehicle dealer;
(c)is acting in a fiduciary capacity for a new motor vehicle dealer; or
(d)is an heir, devisee, personal representative, beneficiary, successor, or assign of a new motor vehicle dealer. See Montana Code 61-4-201
- Vehicle: means a device in, on, or by which any person or property may be transported or drawn on a public highway, except devices moved by animal power or used exclusively on stationary rails or tracks. See Montana Code 61-1-101
(2)Objections or notice of protest pursuant to 61-4-205(1) and (2) must be adjudicated pursuant to those statutes if mediation pursuant to 61-4-215 is unsuccessful.