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Call Now: 904-383-7448If a new motor vehicle dealer desires to make a change in its executive management or ownership or to sell its principal assets, the new motor vehicle dealer will give the franchisor prior written notice of the proposed change or sale. The franchisor shall not arbitrarily refuse to agree to such proposed change or sale and may not disapprove or withhold approval of such change or sale unless the franchisor can prove that its decision is not arbitrary and that the new management, owner, or transferee is unfit or unqualified to be a dealer based on the franchisor's prior written, reasonable, objective, and uniformly applied, within reasonable classifications, standards or qualifications which directly relate to the prospective transferee's business experience, moral character, and financial qualifications. A franchisor may not disapprove or withhold approval of a change or sale if the new management, owner, or transferee is an owner of a dealership in the State of Georgia which sells the same line-make motor vehicle as the dealership being transferred unless such management, owner, or transferee is not in substantial compliance with its existing franchise agreement relating to performance in the areas of customer satisfaction or sales or unless such management, owner, or transferee does not meet the franchisor's prior written, reasonable, objective, and uniformly applied standards or qualifications relating to its financial qualifications or moral character. Where the franchisor rejects a proposed change or sale, the franchisor shall give written notice of his reasons to the new motor vehicle dealer within 60 days. If no such notice is given to the new motor vehicle dealer, the change or sale shall be deemed approved.
(Code 1981, §10-1-653, enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 1585, § 2; Ga. L. 1999, p. 1194, § 4.)
Right of first refusal under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-663.1 not subject to the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 10-1-653. - In a dispute between a car dealership franchisor and a franchisee that sought to acquire another dealership, the franchisor's right of first refusal under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-663.1 was not subject to the requirements of the Transfer Statute, O.C.G.A. § 10-1-653; the two statutes operated independently, and the trial court erred in granting an interlocutory injunction to the franchisee. Nissan N. Am., Inc. v. Walker-Jones Nissan, LLC, 345 Ga. App. 447, 812 S.E.2d 130 (2018).
- Burden is placed on the franchisor to prove the franchisor's refusal to approve the transfer of the franchise was not arbitrary and that the franchisor had good cause to terminate the franchise. Moore v. American Suzuki Motor Corp., 203 Ga. App. 189, 416 S.E.2d 807 (1992).
- Franchisor's rejection of a proposed franchise transfer for reasons unrelated to the proposed franchisee's experience or qualifications was not unreasonable. Hickman v. American Honda Motor Co., 982 F. Supp. 881 (N.D. Ga. 1997), aff'd, 138 F.3d 958 (11th Cir. 1998).
- Failure of a franchisor to give notice to a former franchisee of its reasons for rejecting a proposed change in the ownership or sale of the dealership did not cause the dealership to transfer by operation of law. Hickman v. American Honda Motor Co., 982 F. Supp. 881 (N.D. Ga. 1997), aff'd, 138 F.3d 958 (11th Cir. 1998).
Cited in Moore v. American Suzuki Motor Corp., 211 Ga. App. 337, 439 S.E.2d 43 (1993).
No results found for Georgia Code 10-1-653.