§ 462 — Definitions

New York § 462

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law VAT: Vehicle & Traffic
• Title 4: Registration of Vehicles
• Art. 17-A: Franchised Motor Vehicle Dealer Act

Text

§ 462. Definitions. Whenever used in this article:\n 1. "Distributor" means any person who primarily offers, sells or\ndistributes new motor vehicles to franchised motor vehicle dealers or\nmaintains distributor representatives within the state.\n 2. "Distributor branch" means a branch office maintained by a\ndistributor which offers, sells or distributes new motor vehicles to\nfranchised motor vehicle dealers in this state.\n 3. "Distributor representative" means a representative employed by a\ndistributor branch or distributor.\n 4. "Factory branch" means a branch office maintained for directing and\nsupervising the representatives of the manufacturer or which office is\nmaintained for the sale of motor vehicles.\n 5. "Factory representative" means a representative employed by a\nfactory branch for the purpose of making or promoting the sale of motor\nvehicles or for supervising, servicing, instructing or contacting\nfranchised motor vehicle dealers or prospective motor vehicle dealers.\n 6. "Franchise" means a written arrangement for a definite or\nindefinite period in which a manufacturer or distributor grants to a\nfranchised motor vehicle dealer a license to use a trade name, service\nmark or related characteristic, and in which there is a community of\ninterest in the marketing of motor vehicles or services related thereto\nat wholesale, retail, by lease or otherwise and/or pursuant to which a\nfranchised motor vehicle dealer purchases and resells or offers (as\nagent, principal, or otherwise) products associated with the name or\nmark or related components of the franchise.\n 7. "Franchised motor vehicle dealer" means: (a) any person required to\nbe registered pursuant to section four hundred fifteen of this title\nwhich has been granted a franchise as defined in subdivision six of this\nsection, or (b) any person engaged in the business of selling\nsnowmobiles, all terrain vehicles and/or personal watercraft at\nwholesale or retail who has been granted a franchise; provided, however,\nthat any person primarily engaged in the sale of vessels and other\nmarine items who meets the definition of "dealer" as provided in\nsubdivision one of section eight hundred ten of the general business law\nshall not be a "franchised motor vehicle dealer" pursuant to this\narticle.\n 8. "Franchisor" means any manufacturer, distributor, distributor\nbranch or factory branch, importer or other person, partnership,\ncorporation, association, or entity, whether resident or non-resident,\nwhich enters into or is presently a party to a franchise with a\nfranchised motor vehicle dealer.\n 8-a. "Good faith" means, in addition to any common law definitions of\nthat term, honesty in fact and the observation of reasonable commercial\nstandards of fair dealing in the trade.\n 9. "Manufacturer" means any person, partnership, corporation,\nassociation, factory branch or other entity engaged in the business of\nmanufacturing or assemblying new and unused motor vehicles for sale in\nthis state.\n 10. "Motor vehicle" means: (a) any motor vehicle as defined in section\none hundred twenty-five of this chapter, (b) any snowmobile as defined\nin article forty-seven of this chapter, (c) any all terrain vehicle as\ndefined in article forty-eight-B of this chapter and (d) any personal\nwatercraft as defined in section two of the navigation law, provided the\ncommissioner shall have authority to except by regulation vehicles other\nthan passenger automobiles, trucks and motorcycles from such definition.\n 11. "New motor vehicle" means a vehicle sold or transferred by a\nmanufacturer, distributor or dealer, which has not been placed in\nconsumer use or used as a demonstrator.\n 12. "New motor vehicle product" means any motor vehicle which is of\nthe same line make of motor vehicle as those which the franchisor has\nauthorized its existing franchised motor vehicle dealers to sell under\nthe existing franchises between franchised motor vehicle dealers and the\nfranchisor.\n 13. "Line make" means all models of a specific brand of motor vehicle\nmanufactured by a manufacturer that may manufacture several brands, each\nof which are a separate line of make; except that, as such term applies\nto the sale of any new house coach, means that group or those groups of\nhouse coaches, as defined by the terms of the written franchise.\n 14. Notwithstanding the provisions of section one hundred nineteen of\nthis chapter, for purposes of this article the term "house coach" shall\nmean any vehicle motivated by a power connected therewith or propelled\nby a power within itself, which is designed to provide temporary living\nquarters, and which is built onto, as an integral part of, or is\npermanently attached to a motor vehicle chassis, and contains at least\nfour of the following independent life support systems if each is\npermanently installed and designed to be removed only for purposes of\nrepair or replacement and meets the standards of the American National\nStandards Institute for recreation vehicles:\n (a) a cooking facility with an on-board fuel source;\n (b) a gas or electric refrigerator;\n (c) a toilet with exterior evacuation;\n (d) a heating or air conditioning system with an on-board power or\nfuel source separate from the vehicle engine;\n (e) a potable water supply system that includes at least a sink, a\nfaucet and a water tank with an exterior service supply connection; and\n (f) a 110-125 volt electric power supply.\n 15. "Relevant market area" means:\n (a) if the proposed additional or relocated motor vehicle dealer is to\nbe located in a county having a population in excess of one hundred\nthousand, the area within the radius of six miles of the intended site\nof the proposed or relocated dealer. Such six mile distance shall be\ndetermined by measuring the distance between the nearest surveyed\nboundary of the existing new motor vehicle dealer's principal place of\nbusiness and the nearest surveyed boundary line of the proposed or\nrelocated new motor vehicle dealer's place of business; or\n (b) if the proposed additional or relocated motor vehicle dealer is to\nbe within a county having a population of less than one hundred\nthousand, the area within the radius of ten miles of the intended site\nof the proposed or relocated dealer. Such ten mile distance shall be\ndetermined by measuring the distance between the nearest surveyed\nboundary line of the existing new motor vehicle dealer's principal place\nof business and the nearest surveyed boundary line of the proposed or\nrelocated new motor vehicle dealer's principal place of business.\n In determining the population of a county, the most recent census by\nthe U.S. Bureau of Census or the most recent population update, either\nfrom the National Planning Data Corporation or other similar recognized\nsource, shall be used.\n 16. "Captive finance source" means any finance source that provides\nautomotive-related loans, or purchases retail installment contracts or\nlease contracts for motor vehicles and is, directly or indirectly,\nowned, operated or controlled, in whole or in part, by a manufacturer,\nfactory branch, distributor or distributor branch.\n 17. "Termination" and "terminate" as such terms are used in connection\nwith the removal of a franchise by a franchisor, means a franchisor's\nproposed termination, cancellation, non-renewal, or rescission.\n