One major area of concentration of the firm is the representation of retail motor vehicle dealerships and their affiliated dealer advertising associations. Virtually since the firm was formed, our attorneys have provided motor vehicle dealers with a full range of legal services. The services include the negotiation and consummation of dealership purchase and sale documents; the analysis, formation and planning of the appropriate ownership formats for dealerships and their related entities such as real estate holding companies, credit life companies and the development and maintenance of personnel policies and the like. The firm has a wealth of experience in dealing with numerous state and federal agencies which license or in other ways regulate the retail motor vehicle business. The attorneys from this firm represent dealerships in court and administrative tribunals in response to consumer complaints alleging breach of warranty, negligent repair, violations of the Consumer Protection Act, the various Privacy Acts, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and any of the myriad of other laws and regulations which impact retail motor vehicle dealership operations. We have been instrumental in assuring that our clients’ interests are protected by the franchisor where indemnification is appropriate because the allegations focus on design or manufacturing errors or defects.

We represent the owners of motor vehicle dealerships in numerous transactions involving both the sale and purchase of dealerships. This representation often involves the negotiation of the sale or purchase price, preparation of the sale or purchase agreements for the operating assets, preparation of and the lease or purchase documents for the real estate and counseling regarding the appropriate form of entity in which to operate the dealership. We often are asked to assist the prospective dealership owner in obtaining approval from the franchisor and in obtaining the various licenses from the state agencies which regulate the businesses. Attorneys in the firm have assisted the buyers or sellers of dealerships in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, South Carolina and Florida.

We also represent dealerships in issues arising out of allegations of breach of various representations and warranties under the various agreements which dealerships have entered into with financial entities governing the financing of vehicle sales and leases. Often these agreements contain terms and conditions that are very unfavorable to the dealership and can result in demands that the dealership repurchase the vehicles and contracts in transactions in which the buyers have defaulted on their contracts. This is especially true of the agreements provided by those sources that specialize in financing the purchases made by customers who are credit challenged as evidenced by “sub-prime” credit scores.

Because of the depth of our knowledge of the industry and of the operation of motor vehicle dealerships in particular, we have been appointed and approved as defense counsel by various insurance companies which write casualty and liability coverage specifically for motor vehicle dealerships. As a result, we are frequently engaged by these insurance carriers to provide defense counsel to dealerships which have been sued in various State and Federal courts.

We coordinate the activities of various attorneys and legal assistants, who devote substantial portions of their time to specific industries or areas of practice, in “practice groups”. These practice groups meet periodically to discuss common questions and issues and to keep the participants abreast of recent developments in the law governing these particular areas of practice. One of the active practice groups in our firm is the Auto Dealer Practice Group, which is co-chaired by John F. Youngblood and Robert Y. Weller II. The firm represents the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, the Southeastern Michigan Dodge Dealers Association, the Metro Detroit Ford Dealers Association, the Metro Detroit Cadillac Dealers Association, the Flint Auto Dealers Association as well as the North American International Auto Show L.L.C. The firm remains heavily committed to providing quality, professional and prompt legal services to its motor vehicle dealership and dealer trade association clients.

This firm has extensive experience in representing dealers in disputes with manufacturers ranging from mediation, arbitration to litigation. These disputes include relocation, termination and protests involving the addition of a new dealer in an existing dealer’s market. Our Auto Dealer Practice Group is firmly committed to protecting dealer client’s rights under the Michigan Motor Vehicle Franchise Act. One example of this is a case our firm handled when Mack Truck attempted to terminate a heavy duty truck dealer’s franchise. We successfully defended the dealer and he remains in business to this day.