Notwithstanding the terms of any franchise agreement, and subject to the following conditions contained in paragraphs 1 through 5 of this section, any manufacturer or distributor who prevents or refuses to honor the succession to a dealership by any legal heir or devisee under the will of a new motor vehicle dealer or under the laws of descent and distribution of this state without good cause or good faith, as defined in this section, shall be subject to the following procedure:
1. Within one hundred twenty (120) days after the death of the new motor vehicle dealer, the manufacturer shall receive a written notice from any legal heir or devisee who intends to establish a successor dealership. If timely notice is not so received, then this paragraph shall not apply, and any succession shall be governed solely by the terms of the franchise;
2. Within thirty (30) days of receipt of the legal heir's or devisee's timely written notice, the manufacturer may request, and the legal heir or devisee shall, within a reasonable time, provide any information which is reasonably necessary for the manufacturer to evaluate the proposed successor dealer and dealership, including, but not limited to, applications, proposals for facilities and financing;
3. Within sixty (60) days of receipt of such information, the manufacturer shall approve or disapprove the proposed successor dealership, and in case of disapproval shall communicate in writing such disapproval and grounds for disapproval to the legal heir or devisee;
4. Failure of the manufacturer to act in a timely manner with respect to any time period described above shall constitute a waiver of the manufacturer's right to disapprove the proposed succession;
5. Within ten (10) days of its receipt of the manufacturer's notice of disapproval, the legal heir or devisee may file a protest of the manufacturer's decision with the Oklahoma Motor Vehicle Commission and request a hearing. Such hearing shall be heard in a substantially similar manner as provided by Section 566 of this title, except that the Commission shall render a final decision within sixty (60) days of the filing of the protest. The manufacturer shall have the burden of proof to show that its disapproval was for a good cause and in good faith. A denial shall not be for good cause and in good faith unless the factory establishes that the legal heir or devisee, or the legal heir or devisee's controlling executive management, is not of good moral character or fails to meet the written, reasonable and uniformly applied requirements of the manufacturer or distributor relating to financial qualifications, general business experience, and other requirements relating to prospective franchisees. However, a legal heir that is of good moral character in accordance with the factory's qualifications and meets the factory's financial qualifications may rely on controlling executive management that is of good moral character and meets the factory's qualifications for general business experience and other requirements relating to prospective franchises. The disapproval by the manufacturer shall be final if the legal heir or devisee fails to file a timely protest of such disapproval. In the event that the Commission finds that the manufacturer's disapproval was not made for good cause, then it shall issue a final order requiring the manufacturer to honor the successor designated in the notice sent by the legal heir or devisee. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section, a new motor vehicle dealer may designate any person as successor by filing a written instrument pursuant to the franchise with the manufacturer during the new motor vehicle dealer's lifetime. In such a case, the written instrument and franchise shall govern the dealership succession.
The suspension, revocation or refusal to issue or renew a license or the imposition of any other penalty by the Commission shall be in addition to any penalty which might be imposed upon any licensee upon judgment or conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction for any violation of the provisions of Sections 561 through 567, 572, 578.1, 579 and 579.1 of this title.
Added by Laws 1985, c. 229, § 9, eff. Nov. 1, 1985. Amended by Laws 2001, c. 148, § 4, emerg. eff. April 30, 2001; Laws 2014, c. 402, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2014.