2019 NADC Fall Conference

Event Materials,

Speakers: (Moderator) Jason T. Allen, Bass Sox Mercer | James T. Fleming, Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association | Matthew Larsgaard, Automobile Dealers Association of North Dakota | Richard N. Sox, Bass Sox Mercer

In this session, recent attempts by OEMs to force production of attorney communications with their dealer association clients and court decisions will be discussed. The panelists have first-hand knowledge of the issue as they were each involved in those recent litigation matters. Current law surrounding attorney-client privileged communications will be addressed along with strategies for ensuring that dealer association communications with their lawyers are maintained as privileged.

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Speakers: Andrew Koblenz, NADA | Paul Metrey, NADA

During this session, NADA attorneys Andy Koblenz and Paul Metrey will highlight an array of salient and breaking federal regulatory developments affecting auto dealers, including the FTC’s proposed amendments to the Safeguards Rule, the Military Lending Act, the proposed ABA resolution on indirect auto financing, the effect of the interest deduction limitation on bonus depreciation, trade and tariffs, fuel economy, and more.

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Speaker: Stuart Teicher, CLE Performer

Did the drafters of our ethics code believe that lawyers are superheroes? It seems so. In this unique program, Stuart Teicher, Esq. (the “CLE Performer”) weaves together talk of superpowers, superheroes, and other fun stuff to explain important ethics rules and explore both the breadth and limitations on a lawyer’s power. Topics include:

  • The allocation of decision-making authority between lawyer and client (Rule 1.2)
  • The rule about withdrawing from representation (Rule 1.16)
  • Our duties as an advisor (Rule 2.1)
  • How “Zealousness” has lately been seen as the tool of villains, rather than heroes.
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Speaker: Adam Crowell, ComplyNet

What keeps independent dealers up at night? What opportunities for success lie at their doorstep? Join in on this discussion which will cover a range of topics such as the federal and state legislation and regulation uniquely impacting independent dealers, enforcement actions touching the industry, and the status subprime marketplace.

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Speakers: Monica Baumann, Scali Rasmussen | Alisa Reinhardt, California New Car Dealers Association

This presentation will cover the California Privacy Act of 2018 and how compliance with the Act is likely to affect dealerships around the country as manufacturers and lenders work to be in compliance. CNCDA’s Regulatory Affairs Director Alisa Reinhardt will cover the history of the bill, implementation in California, and updates at the federal level. Scali Rasmussen’s Monica Baumann will discuss what kinds of rights the new law provides California consumers as well as the causes of action it provides for customers.

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Speakers: (Moderator) Johnnie E. Brown, Pullin, Fowler, Flanagan, Brown & Poe PLLC | Katherine Murray Kelley, CarMax Auto Superstores, Inc. | Harold D. Oehler, Lazydays RV | Stephen B. Straske II, Feman Management Services Corporation

What are the habits of highly effective outside counsel? Join us for this roundtable discussion to get perspectives from in-house counsel as well as practical recommendations for how to best work with outside counsel. Moderated by Johnnie E. Brown.

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Speakers: Ken Rosenfield, Rosenfield & Company | Adam Rosenfield, Rosenfield & Company | Michael Semanie, Killgore, Pearlman, Semanie, Denius & Squires P.A.

Using a real live case study, panelists will discuss how to use new data extraction technology in detecting fraud, as well as Benford’s law.

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Speakers: Douglas Greenhaus, NADA | Kaye Lynch-Sparks, NADA | Frank Hamner, Holler and Classic Family of Automotive Dealerships

There has been a recent uptick in claims made against dealerships and other businesses involving whether and to what degree their public-facing websites must be made accessible to the disabled public under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This session will review website accessibility issues highlighting recent claims activity and NADA’s efforts to work with the U.S. Department of Justice, vehicle manufacturers, website vendors, dealerships, and other interested parties to address the legitimate concerns of customers with visual or motor skill impairments. Particular attention will be placed on how to address legal claims that arise and on potential cost-effective website accessibility strategies for dealerships.

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Speaker: Jonathan Morrison, NHTSA
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Speakers: Patrick L. Anderson, Anderson Economic Group, L.L.C. | Christopher DeVito, Morganstern, MacAdams & DeVito Co., L.P.A.

Patrick L. Anderson and Christopher DeVito present a case study on their successful BMW-MINI litigation in Ohio. This case illustrates best practices for dealers and their attorneys that are contesting manufacturer decisions regarding dealer performance evaluations, approval of new dealer-principals, review of buy-sell agreements, and the use of right-of-first-refusal clauses to constructively terminate a dealer’s interest. 

The presenters will walk through the key lessons learned in this important case, which involved an effort by a manufacturer, purportedly based on fulsomely documented performance evaluations, to prevent the sale of a dealership to a well-qualified individual. The case study illustrates how effective pleading, discovery, and expert testimony can overcome manufacturer decisions that are based on incomplete or faulty data. As the use of data analytics in automotive and other industries grows, the importance of these lessons will increase as well.

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