Vermont Statutes Title 9 Sec. 4094
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 9 Sec. 4094
- Designated family member: means the spouse, child, grandchild, parent, brother, or sister of the owner of a new motor vehicle dealer who, in the case of the owner's death, is entitled to inherit the ownership interest in the new motor vehicle dealer under the terms of the owner's will, or who has been nominated in any other written instrument, or who, in the case of an incapacitated owner of a new motor vehicle dealer, has been appointed by a court as the legal representative of the new motor vehicle dealer's property. See
- Distributor: means any person, resident or nonresident, who in whole or in part offers for sale, sells, or distributes any new motor vehicle to new motor vehicle dealers or who maintains factory representatives or who controls any person, firm, association, corporation, or trust, resident or nonresident, who in whole or in part offers for sale, sells, or distributes any new motor vehicle to new motor vehicle dealers. See
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- Franchise: means all agreements and contracts between any new motor vehicle manufacturer, written or otherwise, and any new motor vehicle dealer that relate to the operation of the franchise and purport to fix the legal rights and liabilities of the parties to such agreements or contracts, including agreements pursuant to which the dealer purchases and resells the franchise product, performs warranty and other service on the manufacturer's products, leases or rents the dealership premises or agreements concerning the dealership premises, or construction or renovation of the dealership premises. See
- Manufacturer: means any person, resident or nonresident, who manufactures or assembles new motor vehicles, or imports for distribution through distributors of motor vehicles, or any partnership, firm, association, joint venture, corporation, or trust, resident or nonresident, that is controlled by the manufacturer. See
- Motor vehicle: means every vehicle intended primarily for use and operation on the public highways that is self-propelled, not including farm tractors and other machines and tools used in the production, harvesting, and care of farm products. See
- New motor vehicle: means a vehicle that has been sold to a new motor vehicle dealer and that has not been used for other than demonstration purposes and on which the original title has not been issued from the new motor vehicle dealer. See
- New motor vehicle dealer: means any person who holds, or held at the time a cause of action under this chapter accrued, a valid sales and service agreement, franchise, or contract granted by the manufacturer or distributor for the retail sale of the manufacturer's or distributor's new motor vehicles, is not affiliated by ownership or control with a franchisor, and is engaged in the business of any of the following with respect to new motor vehicles or the parts and accessories for those new motor vehicles:
- Owner: means any person holding an ownership interest in the business entity operating as a new motor vehicle dealer or under a franchise as defined in this chapter either as a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or other legal entity. See
- Person: means every natural person, partnership, corporation, association, trust, estate, or any other legal entity. See
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
§ 4094. Refusal to honor succession to ownership; notice required
(a) If a manufacturer or distributor believes that good cause exists for refusing to honor the succession to the ownership of a new motor vehicle dealer by a family member of a deceased or incapacitated owner of a new motor vehicle dealer under the existing franchise agreement, the manufacturer or distributor may, not more than 60 days following receipt of notice of the designated family member‘s intent to succeed to the ownership of the new motor vehicle dealer, or any personal or financial data that it has requested, serve upon the designated family member notice of its refusal to honor the succession and of its intent to discontinue the existing franchise with the dealer no sooner than 90 days from the date the notice is served.
(b) The notice must state the specific grounds for the refusal to honor the succession and of its intent to discontinue the existing franchise with the new motor vehicle dealer no sooner than 90 days from the date the notice is served.
(c) If notice of refusal and discontinuance is not timely served upon the family member, the franchise shall continue in effect subject to termination only as otherwise permitted by this chapter.
(d) In the event of a conflict between the written instrument filed by the motor vehicle dealer with the manufacturer designating a certain person as his or her successor and the provisions of this section, the written instrument filed with the manufacturer shall govern. (Added 1981, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 14, 1982; amended 2009, No. 57, § 1, eff. June 1, 2009.)