www.GADA.com | 81 such franchisor shall send a notice to such dealer for such amount and the dealer shall have not less than 30 days to consent such amount or remit payment. If the dealer contests such amount, the charge shall be stayed pending a final resolution as provided in this Code section. Upon the dealer contesting the change, the parties shall attempt to resolve the dispute through an internal dispute resolution procedure of the franchisor, if available, provided that such procedure occurs within a reasonable amount of time. If the internal dispute resolution procedure is unavailable, unsuccessful, or does not occur in a timely manner, such dealer may file a petition with the commissioner not later than 60 days after receipt of such notice from the franchisor or not later than 30 days after conclusion of the internal dispute resolution procedure, whichever is later. If such a petition is filed, the commissioner shall inform the franchisor, manufacturer, or distributor that a timely petition has been filed and that a hearing shall be held on such issue. In any hearing held pursuant to this paragraph, the burden of proof shall be upon the franchisor to demonstrate by a preponderance of evidence the transaction was fraudulent, intentional and materially false, not reasonably substantiated or did not follow the franchisor’s written repair or claim submission requirements; (15) To deny, delay payment for, restrict, or bill back a claim by a dealer for payment or reimbursement for warranty service or parts, incentives, hold-backs, special program money, or any other amount owed to such dealer unless such denial, delay, restriction, or bill back is the direct result of a material defect in the claim which affects the validity of the claim; (16) To engage in business as a dealer or to manage, control, or operate, or own any interest in a dealership either directly or indirectly, if the primary business of such dealer or dealership is to perform repair services on motor vehicles, except motor homes, pursuant to a manufacturer´s or franchisor´s warranty; (17) To refuse to allow, to limit, or to restrict a dealer from maintaining, acquiring, or adding a sales or service operation for another line make of motor vehicles at the same or expanded facility at which the dealer currently operates a dealership unless the franchisor can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that such maintenance, acquisition, or addition will substantially impair the dealer´s ability to adequately sell or service such franchisor´s motor vehicles; (18) To directly or indirectly condition a franchise agreement or renewal of a franchise agreement, addition of a line-make, approval of relocation, or approval of a sale or transfer on the dealer’s or prospective dealer’s willingness to enter into a site control agreement; provided, however that this paragraph shall not apply to a voluntary agreement when separate and adequate consideration is paid to the dealer. The franchisor shall have the burden of proof to show the voluntary, noncoerced acceptance of the site control agreement by the dealer; (19) To charge back, withhold payment, deny vehicle allocation, or take other adverse action against a dealer when a new vehicle sold by the dealer has been exported to a foreign country unless the franchisor can demonstrate that the dealer knew or reasonably should have known that the customer intended to export or resell the new vehicle. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the dealer has no such knowledge if the vehicle is titled or registered in any state in this country. (20) To take and materially adverse action against a dealer, including a dealer’s ability to participate in or receive a benefit or payment owed from any incentive or reimbursement program, based on criteria it has established, implemented, or enforced for measuring the performance, including, but not limited to, sales or service performance, of a dealer unless such criteria: (A) Is fair, reasonable, and equitable; and (B) Is based on accurate and relevant information; or (21) To deny, delay payment for, restrict, or bill back a claim by a dealer for payment or reimbursement for incentives, hold-backs, sales or service promotion
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==