Category: Used-Car Dealerships

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Auto Defense, James S. Sifers, Used-Car Dealerships

New Bill Signed Into Law Could Possibly Affect All Finance Companies

On July 12, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsome signed a bill which enacted Cal. Civ. Code § 1459.5. The purpose of enacting Section 1459.5 was to legislatively overturn Lafferty v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (2018) 25 Cal.App.5th 398 (“Lafferty”), which held that attorneys’ fees were not recoverable against a holder by a consumer for claims brought pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) Holder Rule. (16 CFR § 433.2 [“FTC Holder Rule”].)  […]

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Attorney, Auto Defense, James S. Sifers, Used-Car Dealerships

Repair Work: A Word of Caution

As has become a truth in California with respect to auto dealers, no good deed goes unpunished.  Many consumer attorneys have taken issue with dealers providing goodwill and/or warranty work for recently sold vehicles where a written estimate for the work to be provided and/or an invoice for completed work was not provided.  This often happens in situations where a dealer’s in-house mechanic does work for a customer shortly after […]

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Attorney, Auto Defense, James S. Sifers, Used-Car Dealerships

Dealer Bond vs. Cash Deposit

In order to operate as a dealer in California, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”) requires dealers to provide a $50,000 dealer bond to protect purchasers, sellers, financing agencies, and governmental agencies against monetary loss resulting from the dealer committing fraud and/or making fraudulent misrepresentations. (Cal. Veh. Code § 11710.)  In response to this requirement, there are a number of third-party surety companies that will provide this bond in […]

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Attorney, Auto Defense, Defense, James S. Sifers, Used-Car Dealerships

Electronic Signatures in Vehicle Sales

Electronic transactions have vastly simplified the way many industries document deals.  Several of my automobile dealership clients have inquired as to whether vehicle transactions can be documented electronically.  Currently, the answer to that question is no.  Despite the aging equipment used to memorialize deals found in many automobile dealerships, including dot matrix printers with cutting edge 1980s technology, California has exempted new and used vehicle leases and sales from its […]

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Auto Defense, Used-Car Dealerships

California Assembly Bill (AB) 516 – Temporary License Plates

September 20, 2018 Re:  California Assembly Bill (AB) 516 – Temporary License Plates California Assembly Bill (AB) 516 was chaptered on July 25, 2016, with an implementation date of January 1, 2019. This legislation creates a required new electronic issuance process and new temporary permits for use by dealers to issue Reports of Sale and Temporary License Plates.  The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is working with Fairfax Imaging, […]

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Auto Defense, Defense, Used-Car Dealerships

Proposition 65 Warning & Your Dealership

PROP 65 GENERALLY Prop 65, aka the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, requires CA to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity, and for businesses with 10 or more employees to provide warnings when they knowingly and intentionally cause significant exposures to listed chemicals. NOTE: Prop 65 does not ban or restrict the sale of chemicals on the list. NOTE: The new OEHHA […]