60-1433. Franchise; termination; discontinuance; evidence of good cause.

In determining whether good cause has been established for terminating or not continuing a franchise, the board shall take into consideration the existing circumstances, including, but not limited to:

(1) Amount of business transacted by the franchisee;

(2) Investment necessarily made and obligations incurred by the franchisee in the performance of his part of the franchise;

(3) Permanency of the investment;

(4) Whether it is injurious to the public welfare for the business of the franchisee to be disrupted;

(5) Whether the franchisee has adequate motor vehicle, combination motor vehicle and trailer, motorcycle, or trailer service facilities, equipment, parts and qualified service personnel to reasonably provide consumer care for the motor vehicles, combination motor vehicles and trailers, motorcycles, or trailers sold at retail by the franchisee and any other motor vehicle, combination motor vehicle and trailer, motorcycle, or trailer of the same line-make;

(6) Whether the franchisee refuses to honor warranties of the franchisor to be performed by the franchisee if the franchisor reimburses the franchisee for such warranty work performed by the franchisee;

(7) Except as provided in section 60-1429, failure by the franchisee to substantially comply with those requirements of the franchise which are determined by the board to be reasonable and material; and

(8) Except as provided in section 60-1429, bad faith by the franchisee in complying with those terms of the franchise which are determined by the board to be reasonable and material.

Source

Annotations

Auto dealer-franchisee, who was proven to not meet the criteria of this section, was terminated as franchisee. American Motors Sales Corp. v. Perkins, 198 Neb. 97, 251 N.W.2d 727 (1977).

The nonexclusive factors of section call for a qualitative rather than a quantitative analysis. Chrysler Corp. v. Lee Janssen Motor Co., 9 Neb. App. 721, 619 N.W.2d 78 (2000).