Automotive

Day Pitney's attorneys are experienced in managing significant dealership events, including buy-sell transactions, floorplan and acquisition financings, equity financings and joint venture agreements, and the purchase, leasing and construction of dealership facilities, including land use and environmental counseling.  We likewise advise dealerships in their day-to-day operational needs, spanning labor and employment issues; licensing, data protection and cybersecurity issues; finance and insurance matters, and vendor contracts. 

Our tax, estate planning and family office attorneys help dealership principals achieve tax efficiencies in ongoing operations, exit planning and multi-generational succession planning, and advise on governance issues associated with bringing in outside investors or transitioning a business to the next generation.

Counseling dealers in navigating the intricate relationship with manufacturers is a cornerstone of our practice. The firm represents dealers in disputes with manufacturers, including those involving alleged non-compliance with brand and image guidelines, entitlement to factory incentives, disparate treatment of a dealer relative to its peers, and the establishment and enforcement of performance metrics. 

We negotiate framework and bridge agreements on behalf of clients that have multiple stores with one or more factories. Our industry experience enables Day Pitney to recommend the appropriate course of action for a client in the face of a factory dispute, which under certain circumstances will be a negotiated resolution, while in other cases requires instituting litigation or arbitration to vindicate a client's rights. Our automotive group attorneys are equally adept at pursuing either strategy.

With approximately 300 attorneys in offices spanning throughout the East Coast, Day Pitney offers a breadth of services that enables us to meet most every legal need that a dealership or its principals may have.