ARKANSAS MOTOR VEHICLE COMMISSION ACT manufacturer or distributor shall reimburse the dealer for all losses incurred by the dealer, including legal fees, court costs, and damages, as a result of the dealer’s having been named a party in a product liability action. (d) (1) (A) A manufacturer, distributor, distributor branch or division, or factory or division branch shall not pay to any of its motor vehicle dealers a labor rate per hour or parts rate for warranty work that is less than that charged by the dealer to its retail customers provided the rate is reasonable compared to other same line-make dealers in the dealer’s relevant market area or the dealer’s competitive market area. (B) Conversely, a dealer shall not charge to its manufacturer, distributor, distributor branch or division, or factory branch or division a labor rate per hour or parts rate in excess of the rate charged to its retail customers. (C) A manufacturer, distributor, distributor branch or division, or factory branch or division of new motorcycles, motorized cycles, and all-terrain vehicles shall not pay to any new motor vehicle dealers of motorcycles, motorized cycles, and all-terrain vehicles a labor rate per hour or parts rate for warranty work that is less than that charged by the new motor vehicle dealer to its retail customers, provided that the rate is reasonable compared to other same line make motor vehicle dealers in the new motor vehicle dealer’s relevant market area or the new motor vehicle dealer’s competitive market area. (D) (i) A motor vehicle dealer may request a change in the labor rate per hour for warranty work or parts markup for warranty work, and the manufacturer, distributor, distributor branch or division, or factory or division branch shall approve or disapprove the request within forty-five (45) days from the date the request is received. (ii) A request submitted under subdivision (d)(1)(D)(i) of this section is approved if a manufacturer, distributor, distributor branch or division, or factory or division branch fails to approve or disapprove the request within forty-five (45) days from the date the request for a change in the labor rate per hour for warranty work orparts markup for warranty work is received. (iii) If the manufacturer or distributor determines, from any set of repair orders submitted under subdivision (d)(1)(D) (i) of this section that the labor rate per hour for warranty work or the parts markup for warranty work is substantially higher or lower than the rate currently on record with the manufacturer or distributor, then the manufacturer or distributor may request additional documentation for a period of either forty-five (45) days prior or forty-five (45) days subsequent to the time period for which the repair orders were submitted. (2) (A) All claims made by motor vehicle dealers for the labor, parts, or incidental expenses shall be paid within thirty (30) days following their approval. (B) All claims shall be either approved or disapproved within thirty (30) days after their receipt, and when any claim is disapproved, the motor vehicle dealer who submits it shall be notified in writing of its disapproval within the period, and each notice shall state the specific grounds upon which the disapproval is based. (3) A manufacturer, distributor, distributor branch or division, or factory or division branch shall pay a motor vehicle dealer for warranty work, as long as the work in question was properly performed in accordance with requirements of the manufacturer, distributor, distributor branch or division, or factory or division branch. History. Acts 1975, No. 388, §§ 5, 6; 1985, No. 1032, §§ 3, 5; 1985, No. 1058, §§ 3, 5; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 75-2305, 75-2306; Acts 1991, No. 411, § 2; 1997, No. 1154, § 11; 1999, No. 1042, § 5; 2001, No. 1053, § 11; 2009, No. 756, § 10; 2011, No. 1005, § 7; 2013, No. 1043 § 4; 2015, No. 1055, § 3; 2019, No. 924, §2; 2021, No. 1077, §4. 23-112-311. Addition or Relocation of New Motor Vehicle Dealer. (a) (1) In all instances, when a manufacturer or distributor seeks to enter into a franchise establishing an additional new motor vehicle dealer or relocating an existing new motor vehicle dealer within or into a relevant market area where the same line make is then represented, the manufacturer or distributor shall in writing first notify the Arkansas Motor Vehicle Commission and each new motor vehicle dealer in that line make in the relevant market area of the intention to establish an additional dealer or to relocate an existing dealer within or into that market area. (2) (A) Within twenty (20) days of receiving the notice or within twenty (20) days after the end of any appeal procedure provided by the manufacturer or distributor, any new motor vehicle dealer may file with the Commission to protest the establishing or relocating of the new motor vehicle dealer. (B) When a protest is filed, the Commission shall inform the manufacturer or distributor that a timely protest has been filed and that the manufacturer or distributor shall not establish or relocate the proposed new motor vehicle dealer until the Commission has held a hearing, nor thereafter if the Commission has determined that there is good cause for not permitting the addition or relocation of the new motor vehicle dealer. (C) In the event that a protest is filed with the Commission, the party desiring the addition or relocation of a new motor vehicle dealer pursuant to this subsection shall pay for and provide a copy of a survey showing the proposed location of the additional or relocated new motor vehicle dealer in relation to other existing dealers of the same line make in the relevant market area. (b) This section does not apply: (1) To the relocation of an existing new motor vehicle dealer, other than a new motor vehicle dealer of motorcycles, motorized cycles, and allterrain vehicles, within that dealer’s relevant market area, provided that the relocation not be at a site within ten (10) miles of a licensed new motor vehicle dealer for the same line make of motor vehicles; (2) If the proposed new motor vehicle dealer, other than a new motor vehicle dealer of motorcycles, motorized cycles, and all-terrain vehicles, is to be established at or within two (2) miles of a location at which a former licensed new motor vehicle dealer for the same line make of new motor vehicle has ceased operating within the previous two (2) years; or (3) To the relocation of an existing new motor vehicle dealer of motorcycles, motorized cycles, and all-terrain vehicles within that dealer’s relevant market area, provided that the relocation not be at a site within twenty-five (25) miles of a licensed new motor vehicle dealer for the same line make of motor vehicles. (c) (1) In determining whether good cause has been established for not entering into a franchise establishing or relocating an additional new motor vehicle dealer for the same line make, the commission shall take into consideration the existing circumstances, including without limitation: (A) Permanency of the investment of both the existing and proposed new motor vehicle dealers; (B) Growth or decline in population and new motor vehicle registrations in the relevant market area; (C) Effect on the consuming public in the relevant market area; (D) Whether it is injurious or beneficial to the public welfare for an additional new motor vehicle dealer to be established; (E) Whether the new motor vehicle dealers of the same line make in that relevant market area are providing adequate competition and convenient customer care for the motor vehicles of the line make in the market area, which shall include the adequacy of motor vehicle sales and service facilities, equipment, supply of motor vehicle parts, and qualified service personnel; and (F) Whether the establishment of an additional new motor vehicle dealer would increase competition and, therefore, be in the public interest. (2) In determining whether good cause has been established for not entering into a franchise establishing or relocating an additional new motor vehicle dealer for the same line make, the burden of proof is on the manufacturer or distributor to show it has good cause for granting the new franchise, except when an existing franchisee initiated the relocation. (d) (1) The commission shall conduct the hearing and render its final determination within one hundred eighty (180) days after a protest is filed. (2) Unless waived by the parties, failure to do so shall be deemed the equivalent of a determination that good cause does not exist for refusing to permit the proposed additional or relocated new motor vehicle dealer, unless the delay is caused by acts of the manufacturer or distributor or the relocating or additional dealer. (e) Any parties to a hearing by the Commission concerning the establishing or relocating of a new motor vehicle dealer shall have a right of review of Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association | 31
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODQxMjUw