In Greenburgh, near 500 Tarrytown Road, they started the White Plains store in 2014. The following year, Nissan of Mount Kisco began operations. Both have ever since
Nissan is being sued by Yonkers Nissan to stop a White Plains dealership.
Central Street Nissan filed a case on January 26 in U.S. District Court, White Plains, alleging that Nissan North America and Nissan Motor Acceptance Co. had violated the New York Franchised Motor Vehicle Dealer Act in order to prevent the automaker from building a dealership there.
According to the complaint, there was no justification for entering the market area on Central Avenue.
Steven Oldham, a regional spokesman for Nissan, refrained from commenting on the lawsuit. A new dealership, however, “would boost the performance of its dealer network and improve its brand presence in the greater White Plains, New York marketplace,” the automaker claimed in a letter to Central Avenue Nissan dated Jan. 10.
Central Street In Northeast Yonkers, Nissan is located on Central Park Avenue. According to its website, it was founded in 2003, and F. James Rourke and Mark Brennan are the owners.
On January 10, Nissan sent the dealership notice that it intended to permit Jonathan L. Stern to take over the local Nissan dealership that had been there and move it to 450-460 Tarrytown Road in Greenburgh, which is 5.9 miles away from Central Avenue Nissan.
The former dealership, White Plains Nissan, 500 Tarrytown Road, shut down in 2016 as a result of a legal disagreement with the company, although neither the Nissan letter nor the lawsuit make note of this.
The Nissan letter justifies the new dealer, saying that it will “serve the public welfare through improved customer convenience and better the service to consumers in the surrounding area” due to “economic and marketing factors.”
Central Street According to Nissan, a new dealer is not necessary. The case claims that it has a track record of accomplishment that surpasses Nissan’s and consumers’ expectations.
The proposed dealership would be detrimental to Central Avenue Nissan since automakers are finding it difficult to supply demand for new vehicles due to a lack of computer chips.
Central Avenue “cannot maintain an appropriate inventory of vehicles to meet client demand,” the complaint claims.
According to the dealer, Nissan must provide “good cause” in accordance with New York law, which might include things like population growth and insufficient competition.
However, the complaint claims that Westchester County’s population has somewhat decreased and that Central Avenue Nissan is “more than sufficiently servicing the needs of the consuming public.”
The complaint also mentions the failure of three attempts to establish vehicle dealerships at the intended site.
Additionally, the White Plains Nissan dealership next door was founded in 2014 by Manhattan-based Gary B. Flom, who soon received a “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau. According to court documents, Flom’s Mount Kisco dealership and the White Plains business were both selling cars “out of trust.”
A federal court decision from 2018 found that the dealers were “pocketing the sale earnings” rather than paying back loans to Nissan when automobiles were sold. Nissan must pay $40.2 to Flom’s businesses, according to the judge.
In addition to violating the state’s franchised dealer law, Central Avenue Nissan claimed that Nissan had also broken the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, the contract, and the federal Automobile Dealer’s Day in Court Act by impairing its ability to operate without unfair competition.
It is requesting an undetermined amount in damages as well as an injunction prohibiting Nissan from opening a dealership at the proposed site or any other place within its market region.