Virginia Code 59.1-352.9: Prohibited acts
No supplier shall do any of the following:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 59.1-352.9
- Agreement: means a written or oral contract or agreement between a dealer and a wholesaler, manufacturer, or distributor by which the dealer is granted one or more of the following rights:
1. See Virginia Code 59.1-352.1
- Dealer: means a person engaged in the business of selling at retail farm, construction, utility or industrial equipment, implements, machinery, attachments, outdoor power equipment, or repair parts. See Virginia Code 59.1-352.1
- Supplier: means a wholesaler, manufacturer, distributor, or any purchaser of assets or stock of any surviving corporation resulting from a merger or liquidation, any receiver or assignee, or any trustee of the original manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor who enters into an agreement with a dealer. See Virginia Code 59.1-352.1
1. Coerce any dealer to accept delivery of equipment, parts, or accessories that the dealer has not ordered voluntarily, except as required by any applicable law, or unless the parts or accessories are safety parts or accessories required by the supplier.
2. Condition the sale of additional equipment to a dealer upon a requirement that the dealer also purchase other goods or services, except that a supplier may require the dealer to purchase those parts reasonably necessary to maintain the quality of operation in the field of the equipment used in the trade area.
3. Coerce a dealer into refusing to purchase equipment manufactured by another supplier.
4. Terminate, cancel, or fail to renew or substantially change the competitive circumstances of the retail agreement based on the results of any circumstance beyond the dealer’s control, including a natural disaster such as a sustained drought, high unemployment in the dealership market area, or a labor dispute.
2002, c. 898.