§ 199-C — Termination or refusal to renew a franchise without good cause prohibited; notice requirement; right of action

§ 199-c. Termination or refusal to renew a franchise without good\ncause prohibited; notice requirement; right of action. 1. Except as\notherwise provided in this article, no distributor or agent thereof\nshall terminate, cancel or refuse to renew any franchise except for good\ncause, which shall include, but not be limited to:\n (a) The dealer's failure to comply with a substantive requirement of a\nfranchise agreement;\n (b) The dealer's failure to act in good faith in carrying out the\nterms of the franchise.\n (c) The distributor's failure to renew his lease of the service\nstation premises, provided the distributor does not supply the service\nstation with motor fuels for a period of one year after the expiration\nof the lease.\n 2. A distributor may elect not to renew the franchise due to the sale\nor lease of the service station premises owned by the distributor to\nother than a subsidiary or affiliate of the distributor for any use,\nprovided the distributor does not supply the service station with motor\nfuels for a period of one year after such sale or lease; the sale or\nlease of the service station premises to a subsidiary or affiliate of\nthe distributor for use other than as a service station; or the use of\nthe service station premises by the distributor for other than as a\nservice station.\n 3. No distributor may terminate, cancel or refuse to renew a franchise\nagreement for any reason unless he has given ninety days' written notice\nto the dealer of his intent to terminate, cancel or not renew such\nfranchise, provided that in the event of the dealer's default under the\nterms and conditions of the franchise agreement as set out in paragraph\na of subdivision one of this section, the distributor may,\nalternatively, give the dealer ten days' written notice to cure the\ndefault, and if the default has not been cured within such period, the\ndistributor may terminate or cancel the franchise in accordance with the\nnotice requirements of the franchise agreements, provided such notice is\ngiven within ten days or any other period mutually agreed upon in\nwriting after the expiration of the ten-day default period.\n 4. A gasoline dealer may bring an action under this section against a\ndistributor in any court of competent jurisdiction for wrongfully\nterminating, cancelling or refusing to renew a franchise and the court\nmay award money damages and grant such equitable relief as may be\nproper.\n