Buddy Gregg Motor Homes, Inc. v. Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation

156 S.W.3d 91, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 11225, 2004 WL 2900371
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 16, 2004
Docket03-03-00543-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by51 cases

This text of 156 S.W.3d 91 (Buddy Gregg Motor Homes, Inc. v. Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Buddy Gregg Motor Homes, Inc. v. Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation, 156 S.W.3d 91, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 11225, 2004 WL 2900371 (Tex. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

BOB PEMBERTON, Justice.

As the Administrative Law Judge below described it, “This is a case about million-dollar buses — massive, opulent vehicles that begin as hollow shells and end as the earthbound equivalent of a corporate jet.” The issues on appeal concern, first, the decision of the Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation that it had incorrectly licensed Marathon Coach of Texas, a corporation that transforms hollow bus shells into luxury motor coaches, and, second, what actions the Board was required to take against Marathon for having operated under the wrong licenses. Marathon contends that the Board erred in its reconsideration of its licensing determination and in permitting a competitor, Buddy Gregg Motor Homes, to participate in the proceedings before the Board. Buddy Gregg separately challenges the Board’s decision to grant Marathon twelve months to restructure its licenses, contending that the Board was obligated to assess civil penalties against Marathon or to issue a cease-and-desist order. Buddy Gregg also argues that the Board was required to make specific findings of fact and conclusions of law that Marathon violated the motor vehicle code. For the rea *95 sons stated below, we affirm the Board’s oi'der.

BACKGROUND

Because the dispute in this case arises within the framework of Texas’s motor vehicle regulatory system, we begin with an overview of the statutes regulating motor vehicle manufacture, distribution, and sale. See Tex. Oce.Code Ann. §§ 2301.001-.806 (West 2004). The overarching goal of this regulatory regime is to “ensure a sound system of distributing and selling motor vehicles” in our state. Id. § 2301.001. It defines several categories of businesses involved in the trade of motor vehicles and requires each type of business to obtain a corresponding license to conduct business in this state. See generally id. § 2301.002. These categories include “manufacturers” (persons who manufacture or assemble new motor vehicles), “dealers” (retail sellers of motor vehicles), or “franchised dealers” (dealers with a franchise agreement with a manufacturer of motor vehicles). See id. § 2301.002(7), (16), (19). A “franchised dealer” licensee receives a license “for the make of new motor vehicle being bought, sold or exchanged.” Id. § 2301.252(a)(1).

Any person who acts as a “converter” must also be licensed. A “converter” is a person who “before the retail sale of a motor vehicle: (A) assembles, installs, or affixes a body cab, or special equipment to a chassis; or (B) substantially adds, subtracts from, or modifies a previously assembled or manufactured motor vehicle other than a motor home.” Id. § 2301.002(6). A “conversion” occurs when a motor vehicle “has been substantially modified by a person other than the manufacturer or distributor of the chassis of the motor vehicle” and “has not been the subject of a retail sale.” Id. § 2301.002(5)(A), (B). Although “chassis” remains undefined in the code, a “chassis manufacturer” is defined as a “person who manufactures and produces the frame on which the body of a motor vehicle is mounted.” Id. § 2301.002(4). For these purposes, the make of a conversion is “that of the chassis manufacturer.” Id. § 2301.252(b)(1).

The legislature requires a person to obtain the appropriate license from the Board before engaging in the business activities corresponding to each definition. Id. §§ 2301.251(a), .252-.254. Licenses are valid for one year. Id. §§ 2301.301, .303. The Board must measure each license application against statutory factors. See id. §§ 2301.257 (information required in dealer’s license application), .258 (general requirements for application for manufacturer’s, distributor’s, converter’s, or representative’s license), .259 (manufacturer’s license), .260 (distributor’s license), .261 (vehicle lessor’s license), .262 (vehicle lease facilitator’s license).

The legislature has also regulated the business conduct of each licensee category. For dealers, the code imposes various consumer-protection mandates, see generally id. §§ 2301.351-.352, .354, but also protects dealers from market entry by potentially competing dealers. See, e.g., id. § 2301.257 (licensing requirements). For example, the Board may deny an application to establish a dealership if, following a protest, the applicant fails to establish “good cause” for establishing the dealership, taking into account (1) whether the manufacturer or distributor of the same line-make of new motor vehicle “is being adequately represented as to sales and service”; (2) whether the protesting franchised dealer representing the same line-make is in substantial compliance with the dealer’s franchise agreement; (3) “the desirability of a competitive marketplace”; (4) “any harm to the protesting franchised *96 dealer”; and (5) “the public interest.” Id. § 2301.652(a); see also BMW of N. Am., LLC v. Motor Vehicle Bd., 115 S.W.3d 722, 724-25 (Tex.App.-Austin 2008, pet. denied). Importantly, the legislature has prohibited manufacturers from acting as dealers and from owning or controlling an interest in a dealership. Tex. Occ.Code Ann. § 2301.476. In the industry, this is known as a prohibition on vertical integration. The legislature has not prohibited vertical integration by converters.

To summarize the findings of fact made by the ALJ after receiving evidence, 1 Marathon produces luxury motor coaches that contain such amenities as living and sleeping areas, kitchens equipped with refrigerators and cooking facilities, and bathrooms with running water. Marathon purchases coach “shells” from Prevost Car, Inc., for $300,000 to $470,000 each. These shells are operationally functional, and each of their interiors comes equipped with a driver’s seat, steering wheel, and a full set of dashboard instruments. Otherwise, the passenger compartment is completely empty. Delivery from Prevost to Marathon is made by driving the unit from the Prevost manufacturing facility in Quebec to Marathon’s Oregon facility. At that point, Marathon installs luxury interiors and amenities into the shells, often customizing them to a customer’s specifications. The customization process typically takes three to five months and can add more than $1 million in value to the vehicle. The finished coaches retail from between $1.3 million and $1.7 million. Marathon then sells the coaches to purchasers nationwide through its retail dealerships. Before March 2002, Marathon had two retail dealerships, one in Oregon and one in Florida.'

The present dispute arises from Marathon’s efforts to obtain the necessary licenses to open a retail dealership to sell and service its coaches in the Dallas area. Starting in 1997, Marathon had wanted to open a retail and service facility in Texas. In 2000, it began to explore the possibility of obtaining a Texas dealer’s license.

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Bluebook (online)
156 S.W.3d 91, 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 11225, 2004 WL 2900371, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buddy-gregg-motor-homes-inc-v-motor-vehicle-board-of-the-texas-texapp-2004.