GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 1999
SESSION LAW 1999-336
AN ACT TO CLARIFY MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER TRANSFER RIGHTS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 20-305(18) reads as rewritten:
"(18) To prevent or attempt to prevent a
dealer from receiving fair and reasonable compensation for the value of the
franchised business transferred in accordance with G.S. 20-305(4) above. above,
or to prevent or attempt to prevent, through the exercise of any contractual
right of first refusal or otherwise, a dealer located in this State from
transferring the franchised business to such persons or other entities as the
dealer shall designate in accordance with G.S. 20-305(4). The opinion or
determination of a manufacturer that the existence or location of one of its
franchised dealers situated in this State is not viable or is not consistent
with the manufacturer's distribution or marketing forecast or plans shall not
constitute a lawful basis for the manufacturer to fail or refuse to approve a
dealer's proposed transfer of ownership submitted in accordance with G.S.
20-305(4), or "good cause" for the termination, cancellation, or
nonrenewal of the franchise under G.S. 20-305(6) or for the rejection of an
owner's designated successor appointed pursuant to G.S. 20-305(7). No
manufacturer shall owe any duty to any actual or potential purchaser of a motor
vehicle franchise located in this State to disclose to such actual or potential
purchaser its own opinion or determination that the franchise being sold or
otherwise transferred is not viable or is not consistent with the
manufacturer's distribution or marketing forecast or plans."
Section 2. This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 13th day of July, 1999.
s/ Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate
s/ James B. Black
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ James B. Hunt, Jr.
Governor
Approved 5:50 p.m. this 22nd day of July, 1999