Automotive News has copies of two Arbitration Decisions

XDCX · 05-23-2010, 09:58 AM

I just wanted to start a quick thread to let any of our members who might be in arbitration know that Automotive News has two recent decisions that can be downloaded as a PDF file.

The decisions are for the following dealerships:

Tenafly Chrysler/Jeep
Hinckley Dodge

To the extent I thought all matters concerning the arbitration process were covered by a confidentiality agreement I was surprised to see that Automotive News had copies on their website.

I haven't had a chance to read thought them yet, but I saved a copy of each file in the event they're removed from the AN website. Please send me a PM if you would like a copy.

XDCX · 05-24-2010, 10:41 AM

I had a chance to read through the rulings - it was interesting to see the reasoning process used by the arbitrators to make their rulings.

At one point I predicted the arbitrators would have a "pro-dealer" bias based on Chrysler's behavior but that's clearly not the case. If anything, the bias in these two cases seemed to favor Chrysler.

It was also interesting to see how much weight the arbitrators assigned to the viability of Chrysler's Genesis plan and the accuracy of Chrysler's MSR calculations. To the extent the 789 terminations didn't match Chrysler's Genesis plan and the fact that MSR can have some serious flaws when it comes to allocating a dealer's "fair share" within a market these are points that dealers will likely want to argue in upcoming arbitration cases.

XDCX · 05-24-2010, 11:13 AM

Here's an excerpt from the Hinckley Dodge ruling:

"While the decision to not upgrade or otherwise address the facility may have been financially prudent, from the perspective of the public, updated and modern facilities often play a key role in a brand's success."

Here's a translation:

While your decision not to spend recklessly and build a new facility was prudent and allowed you to survive the worst recession since the Great Depression, we're now going to use that decision as grounds to terminate you.

Pick your poison - it seems like you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't.

05-23-2010, 09:58 AM	#1
XDCX Administrator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 14,869	Automotive News has copies of two Arbitration Decisions I just wanted to start a quick thread to let any of our members who might be in arbitration know that Automotive News has two recent decisions that can be downloaded as a PDF file. The decisions are for the following dealerships: Tenafly Chrysler/Jeep Hinckley Dodge To the extent I thought all matters concerning the arbitration process were covered by a confidentiality agreement I was surprised to see that Automotive News had copies on their website. I haven't had a chance to read thought them yet, but I saved a copy of each file in the event they're removed from the AN website. Please send me a PM if you would like a copy.

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05-24-2010, 10:41 AM	#2
XDCX Administrator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 14,869	I had a chance to read through the rulings - it was interesting to see the reasoning process used by the arbitrators to make their rulings. At one point I predicted the arbitrators would have a "pro-dealer" bias based on Chrysler's behavior but that's clearly not the case. If anything, the bias in these two cases seemed to favor Chrysler. It was also interesting to see how much weight the arbitrators assigned to the viability of Chrysler's Genesis plan and the accuracy of Chrysler's MSR calculations. To the extent the 789 terminations didn't match Chrysler's Genesis plan and the fact that MSR can have some serious flaws when it comes to allocating a dealer's "fair share" within a market these are points that dealers will likely want to argue in upcoming arbitration cases.

05-24-2010, 11:13 AM	#3
XDCX Administrator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 14,869	Here's an excerpt from the Hinckley Dodge ruling: "While the decision to not upgrade or otherwise address the facility may have been financially prudent, from the perspective of the public, updated and modern facilities often play a key role in a brand's success." Here's a translation: While your decision not to spend recklessly and build a new facility was prudent and allowed you to survive the worst recession since the Great Depression, we're now going to use that decision as grounds to terminate you. Pick your poison - it seems like you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't.