Michael G. Charapp Law Blog

An insurance agent can provide helpful tips on how to receive tax benefits from various retirement and pension plans.  However, you put yourself in the hands of others to properly protect you and to make sure that the 412i plan, the 419 plan, or the VERA plan that they recommended to you were appropriate and properly set up. When they fail, they need to pay to solve the problems they caused. ... Read More

Litigation over fees and excess charges in connection with vehicle sales have been a staple of plaintiff lawyers over the years.  Dealerships should be aware of this and should be taking steps to be sure that they do not put themselves into the plaintiff lawyers’ range of vision.... Read More

When was the last time you checked your open account with your manufacturer? When was the last time you checked other accounts, such as a co-op advertising account?... Read More

A handbook should advise employees what is expected from them.  It should establish the standards of conduct that the dealer expects.  It is an excellent vehicle to describe the dealership’s philosophy and the expectations of the dealership that its employees shall work to satisfy customers 100% of the time, operating in a forthright, ethical, and honest manner.... Read More

Many dealers assume that if they simply pull a vehicle history report and it shows no damage, that they are safe in assuming that the vehicle has no serious prior damage.  This is simply not the case, however.... Read More

Dealers must be careful about violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.  These actions can be filed either as individual actions or as group actions in federal court, and they can be lucrative for plaintiffs’ law firms.  In fact, there are law firms springing up around the country that do nothing but FLSA work on behalf of employees. Here are three questions regularly asked with respect to salesperson pay.... Read More

The IRS has revised Form 8300 for reporting receipt of cash in excess of $10,000.  The revisions do not appear to affect the two pages of the form that are filled in by a dealer.  The changes appear to be limited to minor editorial revisions and revisions to the instructions concerning taxpayer identification numbers.... Read More

There has been significant publicity recently about Ford Motor Company’s ultimatum to Lincoln dealers. According to reports, to remain Lincoln dealers, dealers must invest an average of $1 million to upgrade facilities. Not to handle the cars that Lincoln now builds, mind you.  But in the hope that Ford can introduce vehicles that compete with luxury cars now on the market that are consistently being improved. Invest or take a hike is apparently the message.... Read More

Dealers generally assume that a customer who leases a vehicle will have the right to buy it at the end for the residual value.  That is not always the case.... Read More

Dealers:  You must take audits very seriously.  From reports around the country, franchisors have been increasing their audit activity.... Read More