Section 218.0121. Factory stores.

 

(1m)  In this section:

(a) “Agent" means a person who is employed by or affiliated with a factory or who directly or through an intermediary is controlled by or under common control of a factory.

(b) “Control" means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise. “Control" does not include the relationship between a factory and a dealership under a basic agreement filed under s. 218.0114 (7) (a) 1.

(c) “Dealer operator" means an individual who is vested with the power and authority to operate a dealership.

(d) “Dealership" means a person licensed or required to be licensed as a motor vehicle dealer under ss. 218.0101 to 218.0163 .

(dm) “Department" means the department of transportation.

(e) “Factory" means a manufacturer, distributor or importer, or an agent of a manufacturer, distributor or importer.

(f) “Operate" means to directly or indirectly manage a dealership.

(g) “Ownership interest" means the beneficial ownership of one percent or more of any class of equity interest in a dealership, whether the interest is that of a shareholder, partner, limited liability company member or otherwise. To “hold" an ownership interest means to have possession of, title to or control of the ownership interest, whether directly or indirectly through a fiduciary or an agent.

(2m)  A factory shall not, directly or indirectly, hold an ownership interest in or operate or control a motor vehicle dealership in this state.

(3m)  This section does not prohibit any of the following:

(a) A factory from holding an ownership interest in or operating a dealership for a temporary period, not to exceed one year, during the transition from one owner or dealer operator to another.

(b) A factory from holding an ownership interest in a dealership, if all of the following apply:

1. The dealer operator of the dealership is an individual who is not an agent of the factory.

2. The dealer operator of the dealership is unable to acquire full ownership of the dealership with his or her own assets.

3. The dealer operator of the dealership holds not less than 15 percent of the total ownership interests in the dealership within one year from the date that the factory initially acquires any ownership interest in the dealership.

4. There is a bona fide written agreement in effect between the factory and the dealer operator of the dealership under which the dealer operator will acquire all of the ownership interest in the dealership held by the factory on reasonable terms specified in the agreement.

5. The written agreement described in subd. 4. provides that the dealer operator will make reasonable progress toward acquiring all of the ownership interest in the dealership, and the dealer is making reasonable progress toward acquiring all of the ownership interest in the dealership.

6. Not more than eight years have elapsed since the factory initially acquired its ownership interest in the dealership, unless the department, upon petition by the dealer operator, determines that there is good cause to allow the dealer operator a longer period to complete his or her acquisition of all of the ownership interest in the dealership held by the factory and the longer period determined by the department has not yet elapsed.

(c) The ownership, operation or control of a dealership by a factory that does not meet the conditions under par. (a) or (b) , if the division of hearings and appeals determines, after a hearing on the matter at the request of any party, that there is no prospective independent dealer available to own and operate the dealership in a manner consistent with the public interest and that meets the reasonable standard and uniformly applied qualifications of the factory.

(d) The holding or acquisition, solely for investment purposes, of an ownership interest in a publicly traded corporation by an employee benefit plan that is sponsored by a factory.

1999 a. 31 s. 110 , 186 ; 2003 a. 77 .