Ford Dealer Can Pursue Claims Automaker Acted In Bad Faith

January 19, 2024 12:45 pm

More than one Ford dealer has found itself criticizing The Blue Oval in recent months, with much of that angst stemming from the company’s Model e Certified program. That new offering – which dealers were asked to either opt in or out of last year – is required if dealerships want to be able to sell all-electric vehicles moving forward, but many found some of the program’s stipulations to be cumbersome – and in some cases, potentially not quite legal. Regardless, The Blue Oval has since made some updates to the program based on dealer feedback, but one particular Ford dealer – Anderson & Koch Ford – is now being allowed to pursue its claims that the automaker acted in bad faith for other reasons, according to Automotive News.

As Ford Authority reported back in August 2022, this particular case came about after Ford reportedly walked back on its original agreement to sell Anderson & Koch Ford a location it was seeking to add to its portfolio, citing gender discrimination as the reasoning behind that decision. However, a federal judge dismissed the case on grounds that the two sides only reached a verbal agreement on the sale, which can’t be considered a legal contract.

Now, however, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz has ruled that Anderson & Koch can in fact pursue its claim in court that the automaker acted in bad faith and violated its franchise agreement. The problem it seems, is that Ford allegedly removed nine of 18 census tracts from its dealer locality and reassigned them to the new store, which is now slated to be called Forest Lake Ford after it was sold to another bidder.

The problem with this action is that it effectively means Anderson & Koch would be barred from marketing activities in the general area, as that capability is now relegated to Forest Lake Ford. The dealer noted that such a move will cause an “alarming market compression” and loss of its “relative proximity advantage with respect to 42-57 percent of vehicle registrations within its current census tracts.”

We’ll have more on this case soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford lawsuit news and 24/7 Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.