Frye v. Am. Honda Motor Co., Inc.

Citations

• 239 N.E.3d 1182
• 2024 Ohio 1554

Syllabus

Judgment affirmed. In the event of a proposed automobile dealership transfer, R.C. 4517.56(A) obligates the current franchisee to provide the automobile manufacturer with information regarding the prospective transferee's prospective management personnel. Neither the franchisee nor appellants, the prospective transferees herein, provided Honda with information regarding appellants' prospective management personnel, and appellants failed to demonstrate any prejudice resulting from Honda's failure to evaluate their prospective management personnel. Although Honda's policies provided for a sales performance metric based on state averages, Honda reasonably relied on alternative, local-based metrics to conclude that appellants' poor sales performance at their current Honda dealership demonstrated appellants were unlikely to comply with the terms of the franchise agreement then in effect at another Honda dealership.