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Dear Clients:
I am constantly surprised after talking to clients that they do not realize the multitude of services that we provide to automobile, motorcycle, RV, boat dealers and the transportation industry in general.
2007 was an extremely busy year, having successfully negotiated and closed numerous asset purchase agreements, stock sale and purchase agreements, and real estate transactions. Needless to say, the acquisition and divestiture business was extremely busy in 2007 and we anticipate that 2008 will be an even busier year. The transactions ran the gamut from very successful operations to businesses that we were able to “keep on life support” until such time as a proper acquisition structure could be negotiated and agreed to by all parties, including the primary lenders. As you are aware, Robert A. Poklar & Associates, L.L.P. has negotiated and transacted a myriad of acquisitions and divestures over the years, ranging in size from a few hundred thousand dollars to millions of dollars. Further, our relationship with the franchisors, manufacturers and financial institutions enables us to aid either the buyer or seller in facilitating the end result that is desirable by our clients.
Additionally, the battle between the Franchisor and Franchisee is always an ongoing affair. We have had several successful administrative protests rendered in our clients’ favor including, but not limited to, preventing a manufacturer from relocating a new franchisee within the market area of an existing dealership, successfully defending a dealer from termination and preventing the award of the franchise to a new dealer entity and preventing a franchise from re-opening a closed dealership point which the franchisor claimed was “allegedly” not closed. We are currently in various courts to prosecute and defend dealers’ rights to maintain ownership of their franchises and to prevent potential transfers and/or closures of the dealerships by manufacturers. Further, we have aggressively reviewed and defended franchisors’ audits of sales incentives and warranty claims against our clients.
On the litigation front, the cases are becoming more sophisticated as opposed to the “run-of-the-mill” Consumer Sales Practices Act and breach of warranty cases. The plaintiffs’ attorneys are venturing into more areas including, but not limited to, financing, TILA, relationships between the business and its financial institutions and whether or not a consumer has the requisite mental capacity to purchase a vehicle, boat, RV, or motorcycle.
We have also defended dealers regarding Attorney General investigations and licensure before the Ohio Motor Vehicle Dealers’ Board.
Robert A Poklar & Associates, L.L.P. is your premier representative in the transportation industry whether it be acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, franchisor-franchisee disputes and/or litigation with franchisors and/or consumers. Please visit the "Publications" section of our website to view and/or subscribe to our newsletter; “You Auto Know®”, which is in its 26th year of publication. I hope you enjoy the “You Auto Know®.”
If you have any questions regarding this correspondence and/or the attached materials, please do not hesitate to contact me. My personal e-mail address is rap@poklarlaw.com. You can reach me at any time at my office. We pride ourselves on being available 24 hours/7 days a week.
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