Car Dealer Lawyer

I just read “Carlaw II Street Legal” by Thomas B. Hudson and the lawyers at Hudson Cook, LLP.  It’s pretty hard to write about dealership compliance and make it entertaining at the same time, but they managed to do it.  This book is a “must read” for anyone who cares about dealership compliance.  It is very well-written and covers all of the major compliance issues.  What makes the book unique, however, is that it is funny and entertaining at the same time.

Tom Hudson and the lawyers at Hudson Cook have done a real service to the dealership community with their publications, which include the original “Carlaw” and the “F&I Legal Desk Book.”  They have collected and demystified the web of laws and regulations that cover car dealerships.  Few law firms have had that kind of impact on the area of law in which they practice.

You can order a copy of the book at counselorlibrary.com.

U.S. Representative Vern Buchanan’s Florida dealerships have been hit with a number of suits by customers and former employees.  At first, I didn’t pay close attention to these suits because they smelled to me like a political smear campaign.  But as I looked closer, they are becoming more interesting and illustrate how the right combination of a professional expert witness, a plaintiff’s lawyer, and some disgruntled employees can generate a firestorm for a dealer. [Read more →]

When times get tough, finance companies look closely at their dealer agreements and assignment clauses to see if the dealers can participate in the bad loans they made.  At least that was my experience.  When times were good, you never heard from the banks.  They took their repossessions and chargebacks as a matter of course.  But if one of them went bankrupt, or was acquired, guess who got a call? That’s right – the dealer.  And every aspect of the deal was “flyspecked.”   Well times are tough now, and I am wondering if any of you are hearing more about chargebacks.

Kansas’ Attorney General filed suit against Chad Franklin Suzuki alleging that its ads violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.  Chad Franklin Suzuki ran a $1.9 million dollar ad campaign that, according to the AG, promised consumers they could  “drive a new Suzuki for life with no payments or drive a new Suzuki for a fixed time period at a fixed price.”  Apparently, the ad worked because 650 customers hooked up.  Customers were apparently happy with their free Suzukis.  The problem arose when the the customers had to start paying price for the cars.

Apparently, this was a case where the mouse type in the ad explained the limitations on the deal, but the overall message of the ad gave consumers the impression that the buyers could have a free lunch.  According to the news report, the ad generated over 100 complaints to the AG’s office and the BBB.  If you watch the news report below, it will make you cringe.  Imagine receiving that kind of bad publicity.   [Read more →]

The Arizona Attorney General and the Department of Financial Institutions are suing Hurricane Motor Sales in Tucson for alleged violations of Arizona’s Consumer Fraud Act and Motor Vehicle Time Sales Act.  Hurricane allegedly failed to disclose to some customers that the vehicles they bought would not pass the state’s emissions standards.  They also allegedly took payments on loans after the loans had been assigned to financial institutions.