(1)Upon the termination, cancellation, or noncontinuation
of a franchise by the franchisor or
franchisee pursuant to the
Motor Vehicle Industry Regulation Act, the franchisor shall pay
the franchisee:
(a)The dealer cost, plus any charges made by the franchisor for distribution,
delivery, and taxes, less all allowances paid or credited to the franchisee
by the franchisor, of unused, undamaged, and unsold motor vehicles in the
franchisee's inventory acquired from the franchisor or another franchisee
of the same line and make within the previous twelve months;
(b)The dealer cost, less all allowances paid or credited to the franchisee
by the franchisor, for all unused, undamaged, and unsold supplies, parts,
and accessories in original packaging, except that (i) in the case of sheet
metal, a
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(1) Upon the termination, cancellation, or noncontinuation
of a franchise by the franchisor or
franchisee pursuant to the
Motor Vehicle Industry Regulation Act, the franchisor shall pay
the franchisee:
(a) The dealer cost, plus any charges made by the franchisor for distribution,
delivery, and taxes, less all allowances paid or credited to the franchisee
by the franchisor, of unused, undamaged, and unsold motor vehicles in the
franchisee's inventory acquired from the franchisor or another franchisee
of the same line and make within the previous twelve months;
(b) The dealer cost, less all allowances paid or credited to the franchisee
by the franchisor, for all unused, undamaged, and unsold supplies, parts,
and accessories in original packaging, except that (i) in the case of sheet
metal, a comparable
substitute for original packaging may be used if such supply, part, or accessory
is offered for sale by the franchisor and was acquired from the franchisor
or the predecessor franchisee as a part of the franchisee's initial inventory
and (ii) in the case of a motorcycle franchise, the payment for such supplies,
parts, and accessories shall be based upon the currently published dealer
cost for all unused, undamaged, and unsold supplies, parts, and accessories
currently offered for sale by the franchisor and originally acquired from
the franchisor or the predecessor franchisee as a part of the franchisee's
initial inventory, and all such supplies, parts, and accessories shall be
currently identifiable and labeled and in the original packaging or a comparable
substitute for the original packaging;
(c) The fair market value of each undamaged sign owned by the franchisee
which bears a common name, trade name, or trademark of the franchisor if acquisition
of such sign was recommended or required by the franchisor;
(d) The fair market value of all special tools, equipment, and furnishings
acquired from the franchisor or sources approved by the franchisor which were
recommended and required by the franchisor and are in good and usable condition
except for reasonable wear and tear; and
(e) The cost of transporting, handling, packing, and loading motor vehicles,
supplies, parts, accessories, signs, special tools, equipment, and furnishings.
(2) The franchisor shall pay the franchisee the amounts specified in
subsection (1) of this section within ninety days after the tender of the
property if the franchisee has clear title to the property and is in a position
to convey that title to the franchisor. This
section shall not apply to a termination or noncontinuation of a franchise
that is implemented as a result of the sale of the assets or stock of the
franchisee.
(3)(a) If the termination,
cancellation, or nonrenewal of a franchise is the result of the termination,
elimination, or cessation of a line-make by the manufacturer, distributor,
or factory branch, then, in addition to the payments to the franchisee pursuant
to subsection (1) of this section, the manufacturer, distributor, or factory
branch shall be liable to the franchisee for an amount at least equivalent
to the fair market value of the franchise for the line-make, which shall be
the greater of that value determined as of (i) the date the franchisor announces
the action that results in termination, cancellation, or nonrenewal of the
line-make or (ii) the date the action that resulted in termination, cancellation,
or nonrenewal of the line-make first became general knowledge. In determining
the fair market value of a franchise for a line-make, if the line-make is
not the only line-make for which the franchisee holds a franchise in the dealership
facilities, the franchisee shall also be entitled to compensation for the
contribution of the line-make to payment of the rent or to covering obligations
for the fair rental value of the franchise facilities for the period set forth
in subdivision (b) of this subsection. Fair market value of the franchise
for the line-make shall only include the goodwill value of the franchise for
that line-make in the franchisee's community.
(b) If the line-make is the only
line-make for which the franchisee holds a franchise, the manufacturer, distributor,
or factory branch shall also pay assistance with respect to the franchise
facilities leased or owned by the franchisee as follows:
(i) The manufacturer,
distributor, or factory branch shall pay the franchisee a sum equivalent to
the rent for the unexpired term of the lease or two years' rent, whichever
is less; or
(ii)
If the franchisee owns the franchise facilities, the manufacturer, distributor,
or factory branch shall pay the franchisee a sum equivalent to the reasonable
rental value of the franchise facilities for two years.
(c) To be entitled to
franchise facilities assistance from the manufacturer, distributor, or factory
branch, the franchisee shall have the obligation to mitigate damages by listing
the franchise facilities for lease or sublease with a licensed real estate
agent within thirty days after the effective date of the termination of the
franchise and by reasonably cooperating with the real estate agent in the
performance of the agent's duties and responsibilities. If the franchisee
is able to lease or sublease the franchise facilities on terms that are consistent
with local zoning requirements to preserve the right to sell motor vehicles
from the franchise facilities and the terms of the franchisee's lease, the
franchisee shall be obligated to pay the manufacturer the net revenue received
from such mitigation, but only following receipt of franchise facilities assistance
payments pursuant to subdivision (3)(b) of this section and only up to the
total amount of franchise facilities assistance payments that the franchisee
has received.
(d)
This subsection does not apply to the termination of a line-make by a franchisor
of recreational vehicles.
(4) This
section shall not relieve a franchisee from any other obligation to mitigate
damages upon termination, cancellation, or noncontinuation of the franchise.