The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 9 : Commerce and Trade

Chapter 107 : Equipment and Machinery Dealerships

• § 4077a. Prohibited acts

  (a)(1) A supplier shall not coerce or attempt to coerce a dealer to accept delivery of inventory that the dealer has not voluntarily ordered.

  (2) A supplier may require a dealer to accept delivery of inventory that is:

  (A) necessary to maintain inventory in a quantity, and of the model range, generally sold in the dealer’s geographic area of responsibility; or

  (B) safety-related and pertinent to inventory generally sold in the dealer’s geographic area of responsibility.

  (b) A supplier shall not condition the sale of inventory on a requirement that the dealer also purchase any other goods or services, provided that a supplier may require a dealer to purchase parts reasonably necessary to maintain inventory used in the dealer’s geographic area of responsibility.

  (c)(1) A supplier shall not prevent, coerce, or attempt to coerce a dealer from investing in, or entering into an agreement for the sale of, a competing product line or make of inventory.

  (2) A supplier shall not require, coerce, or attempt to coerce a dealer to provide a separate facility or personnel for a competing product line or make of inventory.

  (3) Subdivisions (1)-(2) of this subsection do not apply unless a dealer:

  (A) maintains a reasonable line of credit for each product line or make of inventory;

  (B) maintains the principal management of the dealer; and

  (C) remains in substantial compliance with the supplier’s reasonable facility requirements, which shall not include a requirement to provide a separate facility or personnel for a competing product line or make of inventory.

  (d) A supplier shall not discriminate in the prices it charges for inventory of like grade and quality it sells to similarly situated dealers, provided that a supplier may use differentials that allow for a difference in the cost of manufacture, sale, or delivery resulting from the differing methods or quantities in which the supplier sells or delivers the inventory.

  (e) A supplier shall not change the geographic area of responsibility specified in a dealer agreement without good cause, which for purposes of this subsection includes the dealer’s market penetration within the assigned geographic area of responsibility and changes in the inventory warranty registration pattern in the area surrounding the dealer’s geographic area of responsibility. (Added 2001, No. 86 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 2, 2002; amended 2015, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)