A Massachusetts federal court recently granted summary judgment in favor of a motorcycle manufacturer and dismissed claims by a dealer who argued the manufacturer’s internet sales policy breached the dealer agreement between...more
3/11/2025
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Breach of Contract ,
Competition ,
Contract Terms ,
Dealerships ,
Internet Retailers ,
Manufacturers ,
OEM ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Retail Market ,
Unfair Competition ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
More than four years after an industry trade association first filed its challenge to a November 2020 ballot initiative in Massachusetts, a federal judge issued an order in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Campbell...more
2/12/2025
/ Automotive Industry ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OEM ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Right-To-Access ,
Telematics ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On Friday, January 31, 2025, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (“Auto Innovators”), a trade association representing manufacturers in the auto industry, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Maine seeking to enjoin...more
2/4/2025
/ Automotive Industry ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OEM ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Right to Repair ,
State Attorneys General ,
Telematics
The Automotive Right to Repair Working Group convened by the Maine Attorney General will review proposed legislation that would substantially amend provisions of the Maine Right to Repair Law concerning access to mechanical...more
On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released a staff report examining the duration of software support commitments by manufacturers of 184 connected devices, ranging from “smart” phones to...more
12/5/2024
/ Automotive Industry ,
Connected Items ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Information Technology ,
Innovative Technology ,
Magnuson-Moss Act ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OEM ,
Section 5 ,
Smart Devices ,
Telematics ,
Warranties
On Wednesday, October 23, 2024, FCA US LLC, the manufacturer of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram vehicles, among others, put the final nail in the coffin of claims by consumers that “destination charges” for the delivery of...more
10/28/2024
/ Actual Delivery ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
Consumer Fraud ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Fees ,
Manufacturers ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OEM ,
Putative Class Actions
The Maine Attorney General’s Office recently announced that it has convened an 11-person working group of industry stakeholders to develop recommendations for legislation to establish an entity with rulemaking and enforcement...more
On September 4, 2024, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law an amendment to New York’s warranty reimbursement statute, N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 465, requiring manufacturers to compensate dealers for labor using the...more
A federal court in Wisconsin recently granted a motion to dismiss all claims in a putative multi-district class action against motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson, asserting claims that the OEM’s warranty violated the...more
Trade associations representing independent repair facilities have become strong advocates for expanding right to repair laws to increase member access to vehicle telematics data. These efforts have created uncertainty for...more
On Friday, December 22, 2023, FCA US LLC, the manufacturer of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram vehicles, among others, scored the latest in a series of victories for automakers over claims by consumers that “destination charges”...more
1/8/2024
/ Actual Delivery ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Manufacturers ,
Motor Vehicles ,
OEM ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Retail Market ,
Service Charges ,
Supply Chain
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade association representing U.S. automakers and other manufacturers, announced on July 11, 2023 that it had entered into an agreement with trade associations representing...more
In a June 13, 2023 filing in the Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Campbell case pending in Massachusetts federal court, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave notice that it had sent a letter to...more
On June 1, 2023, the Massachusetts Attorney General published the Massachusetts Vehicle Telematics System Notice that new car dealers in Massachusetts must now provide to purchasers of model year 2022 or later vehicles if...more
On March 8, 2022, the Massachusetts federal court in Alliance for Automotive Innovation v. Healy issued a procedural order informing the parties that the court would need another month to issue a decision on a challenge...more
Massachusetts federal district court judge Douglas Woodlock did not mince words during an hour-long hearing on Thursday, December 3, urging lawyers for the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and Massachusetts Attorney General...more
With the effective date looming for changes to Massachusetts law that will require automobile manufacturers to make significant changes to telematics systems, a trade association representing OEMs on Tuesday, December 1,...more
Massachusetts voters on November 3, 2020 overwhelmingly approved Question One, a ballot initiative amending the state’s Right to Repair Law. Beginning with “model year 2022,” manufacturers who use a telematics system in their...more
On November 3, 2020, Massachusetts voters will go to the polls for the second time in less than a decade to consider a “Right to Repair” ballot initiative. Question One would amend Massachusetts law to force auto...more
The two leading Dealer Management System (“DMS”) providers in the United States—CDK Global, LLC (“CDK”) and The Reynolds & Reynolds Company (“Reynolds”)—have filed suit in federal court in Arizona seeking to block an...more