Dealer Lawsuit Settles Against North Carolina

The Chrysler Group LLC has settled a lawsuit that was filed against the state of North Carolina. The law that was involved in the suit gives dealers the right to block automaker’s plan to thin out its dealership ranks. The automaker said in a statement that North Carolina has agreed not to enforce a recently-passed law that gives dealers who were cut by Chrysler the right to challenge or stop the company from awarding new franchises in their area. Chrysler, who is pursuing lawsuits again Oregon, Maine and Illinois, which recently enacted similar laws. Chrysler was claimed in a lawsuit filed last year with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York that the state laws are trumped by the bankruptcy court order approving plans to eliminate 789 dealerships.