§ 696-C — Termination and non-renewal of dealer agreements

§ 696-c. Termination and non-renewal of dealer agreements. 1. Except\nwhere a grounds for termination or non-renewal of a dealer agreement are\ncontained in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) of subdivision two\nof this section, a supplier shall give a dealer ninety days' written\nnotice of the supplier's intent to terminate, cancel or not renew a\ndealer agreement. The contractual term of the dealer agreement shall not\nexpire, without the written consent of the dealer, prior to the\nexpiration of at least ninety days following such notice. Nothing in\nthis section shall prohibit a dealer from terminating a dealer agreement\nwith cause provided, however, that the dealer notify the supplier in\nwriting at least ninety days prior to the effective date of such\ntermination with the reasons for such termination. This notice will not\napply for grounds of termination in following paragraphs (a) through (f)\nof subdivision two of this section.\n 2. As used in this article, a termination by a supplier of a dealer\nagreement shall be with cause when the dealer has:\n (a) transferred a controlling ownership interest in the dealership\nwithout the supplier's consent;\n (b) made a material misrepresentation in applying for the dealer\nagreement;\n (c) filed a voluntary petition in bankruptcy or has had an involuntary\npetition in bankruptcy filed against the dealer which has not been\ndischarged within sixty days after the filing; is in default under the\nprovisions of a security agreement in effect with the supplier; or is\ninsolvent or in receivership;\n (d) been convicted of a crime, punishable for a term of imprisonment\nfor one year or more;\n (e) failed to operate in the normal course of business for ten\nconsecutive business days or has terminated said business;\n (f) Significantly relocated the dealer's place of business without\nsupplier's consent; or\n (g) consistently engaged in business practices which are detrimental\nto the consumer or supplier by way of excessive pricing, misleading\nadvertising, failure to provide service and replacement parts or perform\nwarranty obligations;\n (h) inadequately represented supplier over a measured period causing\nlack of performance in sales, service or warranty areas and failed to\nachieve market penetration at levels consistent with similary located\ndealerships based on available recorded information compiled by industry\nassociations regarded as the authorities in this area both in local and\nnational standards;\n (i) consistently failed to meet building and housekeeping\nrequirements, or has failed to provide adequate sales, service or parts\npersonnel commensurate with the dealer agreement;\n (j) consistently failed to comply with the applicable licensing laws\npertaining to the products and services being represented for and on\nsupplier's behalf;\n (k) consistently failed to comply with the terms of the dealership\nagreement.\n 3. No supplier shall base its decision to terminate, cancel or not to\nrenew a dealer agreement on any of the paragraphs of subdivision two of\nthis section except paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) thereof\nunless such supplier can demonstrate, through written documentation, the\nalleged misconduct and/or lack of performance by the dealer, and\nfurthermore, such supplier shall also show that the reason for the\ndecision to terminate, cancel or not to renew the dealer agreement was\nin no way caused by such supplier.\n