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Old 11-23-2015, 02:15 PM   #1
XDCX
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Default The passing of Dick Poe results in legal battle for control of his estate

According to a news report the recent passing of Dick Poe, a mega-dealer in the El Paso area with 400 employees, has resulted in a legal battle between two parties that claim to have control to manage his estate.

For a link to the news report - click here

While I don't claim to fully understand all of the issues at stake, it appears the dispute is between Dick Poe's son and two long term employees that Dick Poe named as executors for his estate.

Perhaps most interesting, it is reported that Dick Poe wanted to make ownership changes to his estate before his passing which would have taken some control away from his son. That change, however, may put the Dick Poe Toyota franchise in jeopardy because the distributor for Toyota vehicles in Texas doesn't have a franchise agreement with Dick Poe they have an agreement with his son.

Here's an excerpt from the news report:
The change of ownership unleashed a series of events that, according to court records, threatens the future of Dick Poe Toyota.

According to documents filed by Poe II's attorney, the vehicle distributors require prior approval before any change in ownership. Now Gulf States Toyota, the distributor, has filed a notice of franchise termination for Dick Poe Toyota. Testimony during the hearing revealed Gulf States recognizes Richard Poe II as a representative of the dealership, but not the executors of the estate. That case is under appeal before the Texas Motor Vehicle Board.

Anthony Bock, one of the trustees, testified they were taken by surprise by Gulf State Toyota's termination notice. "By the time I got the letter, the damage had been done. We didn't anticipate it," he said. "We were hoping Gulf States would sit in the background and let us work out our disputes."
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Old 11-24-2015, 09:05 AM   #2
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Default I wonder what Gulf States Toyota's agenda is?

When I read the news report I was perplexed by the actions of Gulf States Toyota.

As most people in the car business likely know, Toyota has a unique situation with their dealers in the South and Southeast portions of the U.S. While most Toyota dealers deal directly with Toyota, dealers in certain geographical areas deal with a distributor who then deals with Toyota. These distributor deals date back to when Toyota first entered the U.S. retail market.

In the case of Dick Poe Toyota, Gulf States Toyota is the distributor that controls the franchise.

As before, it seemed strange to me that Gulf States Toyota seemed to be so anxious to terminate their franchise agreement with Dick Poe Toyota. I wonder if Dick Poe Toyota is under-performing in the eyes of Gulf State or whether Gulf States would rather have direct control of the dealership that serves the El Paso market.
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