§ 42-133bb — Prohibited acts by manufacturer or distributor re dealer.

Notwithstanding the terms, provisions or conditions of any franchise agreement or other agreement between a manufacturer or distributor and a dealer, no manufacturer or distributor shall require that a dealer: (1) Order or accept delivery of any new motor vehicle, part or accessory, equipment or any other commodity not required by law in connection with warranty service or a recall campaign or voluntarily ordered by the dealer, except that the provisions of this subdivision shall not affect terms or provisions of a franchise requiring dealers to market a representative line of motor vehicles which the manufacturer or distributor is publicly advertising; (2) Order or accept delivery of any new motor vehicle with special features, accessories or equipment not included in the list price of such motor vehicles as publicly advertised by the manufacturer or distributor; (3) Pay all or part of the cost of an advertising campaign or contest, or purchase any promotional materials, training material, showroom or other display decorations or materials at the expense of the new motor vehicle dealer without the consent of the new motor vehicle dealer; (4) Enter into any agreement with the manufacturer or distributor or do any other act prejudicial to the dealer under threat of termination or cancellation of a franchise or agreement between the dealer and the manufacturer or distributor, except that this subdivision shall not preclude the manufacturer or distributor from insisting on compliance with the reasonable terms or provisions of the franchise or agreement, and notice in good faith to any dealer of the dealer's violation of such terms or provisions shall not constitute a violation of sections 42-133r to 42-133ee , inclusive; (5) Change the capital structure of the dealer or the means by which the dealer finances the operation of the dealership provided the dealer meets reasonable capital standards established by the manufacturer or distributor in accordance with uniformly applied criteria, and provided further that no change in the capital structure shall cause a change in the principal management or have the effect of a sale of the franchise without the consent of the manufacturer or distributor and such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld; (6) Refrain from participation in the management of, investment in, or acquisition of any other line of new motor vehicles or related products, provided this subdivision shall not apply unless the dealer maintains a reasonable line of credit for each line make of new motor vehicle, the dealer remains in compliance with any reasonable facilities requirements of the manufacturer or distributor, and no change is made in the principal management of the dealer; (7) Prospectively assent to a release, assignment, novation, waiver or estoppel which would relieve any person from liability to be imposed by sections 42-133r to 42-133ee , inclusive, or require any controversy between a dealer and a manufacturer or distributor, to be referred to any forum other than the Superior Court or the United States District Court; (8) Construct, renovate or make substantial alterations to the dealer's facilities unless the manufacturer or distributor can demonstrate that such construction, renovation or alteration requirements are reasonable and justifiable in light of current and reasonably foreseeable projections of economic conditions, financial expectations, availability of additional vehicle allocation and such dealer's market for the sale of vehicles.

Legislative History

(P.A. 82-445, S. 11, 15; P.A. 83-198, S. 8, 11; P.A. 09-50, S. 5; P.A. 13-247, S. 70; 13-298, S. 65.) History: P.A. 83-198 subjected distributors to the provisions of this section; P.A. 09-50 amended introductory language to notwithstand terms of any agreement between manufacturer or distributor and dealer, made a technical change in Subdivs. (5) and (6), and added Subdiv. (8) re changes to dealer's facilities, effective May 8, 2009; P.A. 13-247 deleted Subdiv. (9) added by P.A. 13-298, S. 65, re purchasing goods or services including vehicle battery charging stations, effective June 19, 2013; P.A. 13-298 added Subdiv. (9) re purchasing goods or services including vehicle battery charging stations, effective July 8, 2013.