DEALER LAW CHANGES HISTORY • 2005. MTADA offered no legislation regarding the Montana Dealer Law during the 2005 session. The session concluded with a favorable resolution of most of the bills of general interest to the business community that MTADA took an interest in. • 2007. MTADA offered legislation to permit franchised dealers to display and sell new cars at out-of-county sales where the subject county has no franchised dealers and is part of the dealers’ “area of responsibility.” In 2007, Montana had 22 counties with no franchised dealer. MVD and the OEMs supported the proposal, which was enacted. Other legislation included: ᴏ 61-4-123(3)(b) was revised to permit vehicle storage on property owned, leased, or rented by a dealer that is not contiguous to the dealer’s established place of business. ᴏ MVD bill was enacted regulating automobile brokers with support from MTADA. It allows a joint commercial endeavor (Costco) display, limited to 90 days in any calendar year. • 2009. MTADA succeeded in amending 61-4-202: ᴏ The regulation of additional franchises by OEMs was modified; ᴏ It was required that incentives be paid within 30 days of receipt of the claim from the dealer. OEMs were prohibited from denying warranty claims based solely on a dealer’s incidental failure to comply with a specific claim processing requirement that does not put into question the legitimacy of the claim. ᴏ OEMs were prohibited from penalizing a dealer for a vehicle sold that ended up in a foreign country. A rebuttable presumption was added that the dealer did not know or could not have reasonably known that the vehicle would be shipped to a foreign country if the motor vehicle was titled in one of the 50 States. ᴏ OEMs were prohibited from adding fees or surcharges or raising prices in Montana to make up for the requirement that warranty parts and services be reimbursed at retail rates. ᴏ OEMS were required to compensate a dealer when an OEM dropped a line make. • 2011. MTADA offered no legislation regarding the Montana Dealer Law during the 2011 Session but, in conjunction with other business associations, took positions in opposition to anti-business bills. • 2013. MTADA succeeded in passing the following legislation during the 2013 Session: ᴏ Demo Plates were permitted to be used on service loaners. This language has now been replaced by the Loaner Plate authority passed during the 2019 Session. ᴏ 61-3-201(2)(c) was amended to allow a nonresident with a place of abode in Montana to register a vehicle here. ᴏ 30-11-705 was amended to require an OEM to repurchase special equipment and signs from a terminating dealer. ᴏ 61-4-207 was amended to provide that an OEMs desire for a reduced presence in the state is not a good cause for the termination of a dealer. ᴏ 61-4-208 was amended to prohibit an OEM from requiring that goods or services be purchased from its preferred vendor where the goods or services of like kind, quality and design are available from a vendor of the dealer’s choice. • 2015. MTADA offered no legislation regarding the Montana Dealer Law during the 2015 session. MTADA did cooperate with the MDV on a few revisions, particularly revising the requirement that dealers have actual possession of titles on used units before a sale. Copies are permitted. • 2017. MTADA succeeded in passing the following legislation during the 2017 Session: ᴏ The OEMs contractual right of first refusal was declared unenforceable in Montana. Continued on page 18 17
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