ST. LOUIS (AP) — A year ago, Century Motor Corp. lost its Dodge,
Chrysler and Jeep dealership. Now, the suburban St. Louis dealer is
suing to force Chrysler to give it back.
The lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis
also seeks unspecified damages from Chrysler Group LLC.
Century sales manager Kevin Mock, whose father and uncle own the
dealership, said Tuesday that Century was a profitable business
with high sales volume in a good location in Wentzville, the
fastest growing town in Missouri.
“That’s what’s so confusing to us,” Mock said. “The bottom line
is Chrysler needs good dealers like us to sell its product. Why
they would want to cut a good dealer loose is mind-boggling.”
A Chrysler spokesman declined to discuss specifics of the case,
saying the company had not yet been served the lawsuit.
Century was among 789 dealerships shut down by Chrysler in 2009
as part of the automaker’s bankruptcy plan. Congress mandated the
revoked dealerships be given the option to seek reinstatement
through federal arbitration.
In May, an arbitrator ruled in favor of Century. The lawsuit
said the arbitrator determined Century “shall be reinstated” and
“added as a franchisee to the Chrysler dealer network.”
But Chrysler said in a statement that dealers who win in
arbitration still must meet certain requirements before rejoining
the network.
The lawsuit said Chrysler has insisted Century sign a waiver
letter that “among other things, would require Century to waive
certain rights under the Missouri Motor Vehicle Franchise Practices
Act … and would grant Chrysler an option to purchase Century’s
real estate.”
Century refused to sign.
“Congress intended that those dealers who prevailed in their
arbitrations would be restored to Chrysler’s dealer network,” the
lawsuit contends. “By conditioning that outcome on the dealers’
execution of the unlawful waiver letter, Chrysler is intentionally,
knowingly and willfully thwarting the law.”
Century was among several former Chrysler dealerships that
sought arbitration. Chrysler said in a statement that federal
arbitrators have ruled for the company 37 times and for dealers 13
times. More than 125 cases were withdrawn, dismissed or abandoned,
and fewer than 50 remain to be arbitrated.
“The actions to right-size our dealer network were a necessary
part of Chrysler’s viability, approved by a federal bankruptcy
court and central to the interim financing and partnership with
Fiat,” Chrysler’s statement read. “The only alternative would have
been complete liquidation, which would have resulted in all 3,200
dealers closing, hundreds of thousands of lost jobs, and the
company defaulting on taxpayer loans.
“While we are pleased that the decisions of many arbitrators
reflect a keen appreciation of these circumstances, Chrysler Group
is disappointed that some decisions undermine the Federal
Bankruptcy Court Order that affirmed the rationalization process
used to reject the dealership agreements.”
