One of the first strategies OEMs often employ to avoid complying with a state’s franchise law protections is to argue that the laws do not apply to a dealer agreement that was executed prior to the passing of those statutes. This position allows the OEM to avoid compliance with necessary and...
House Bill 977 – Changing Florida’s Vicarious Liability Laws
Written by admin on . Posted in 2020, Legislation, Newsbrief, Newsletter.
Historically, the Dangerous Instrumentalities Doctrine has imposed strict liability on the owner of a motor vehicle whenever the owner “voluntarily entrusts that motor vehicle to an individual whose negligent operation causes damage to another.” However, companies that rent or lease vehicles...
Transaction Activity Slowed by COVID-19
Written by admin on . Posted in 2020, COVID-19 Related Articles and Resources, Transaction Update.
After several years of record high transaction activity, there has been a lull in the buy-sell market due to COVID-19. Bass Sox Mercer noticed a steep decline in transaction activity around the time state governments started instituting “stay at home” orders. Existing transactions were terminated...
BSM Continues to Assist Dealers Navigate the Ever-Changing PPP Loan Rules
Written by admin on . Posted in 2020, COVID-19 Related Articles and Resources, Newsbrief, Newsletter.
BSM Shareholder, Richard Sox, has presented seven (7) seminars on the Paycheck Protection Program loan eligibility and forgiveness thus far for various dealer organizations. The continuing seminars are a result of the repeated changes made to the PPP by both the Small Business Administration and...
BSM and Hagens Berman File Appeal on behalf of VW Dealer Class
Written by admin on . Posted in 2020, Newsbrief, Newsletter.
BSM and its co-counsel, Hagens Berman, recently filed an appellate brief seeking to overturn the trial court’s dismissal of the VW dealers’ claims against Robert Bosch GmbH and Robert Bosch, LLC. The appeal was made to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
We believe the trial court erred in...