Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Signs Bill into Law Preserving the Rights of Auto Dealerships

The new law provides that key performance metrics for new motor vehicle dealers must consider local demographic and geographic limitations, among other fairness requirements. This new law redefines the often-contested issue of primary market area analysis and changes the standards for measuring and comparing dealer performance.

As a nationally recognized authority in this area, Arent Fox Automotive group leader Aaron H. Jacoby provided technical assistance to the bill’s sponsors, including State Representatives David Fraser-Hidalgo and Dana Stein, as they developed their proposed legislation. State Senator Mike Hough was integral in the process as well, as he helped push the legislation through with a cross-filed bill in the Senate.

The new legislation mirrors important elements of the precedent-setting decision reached in New York through the efforts of Automotive Group partner Russell P. McRory in Beck Chevrolet Co., Inc. v. General Motors LLC. These successes will prohibit application of unfair and unreasonable, nationally averaged sales standards to dealer performance metrics.

Arent Fox’s Automotive practice — recognized as a national leader by Chambers USA — provides the roadmap that clients need to navigate an industry in flux. Noted as a firm that is “thinking outside the box,” Arent Fox lawyers vigorously prosecute litigation that cannot be avoided, engage in every form of transaction, and guide companies through the industry’s complex framework.