Tydings has vast experience in representing automotive dealerships. Our dealership clients range from the single point, local dealer to national dealership groups. We pride ourselves on the fact that, in some cases, we have represented dealerships through three generations of ownership.
Protecting the Dealership
Tydings works closely with dealerships. We emphasize personal attention and efficiency that can only come from years of experience in the automotive industry. We advise clients in a full range of matters, including dealership formation, safeguarding assets, corporate transactions, and daily business matters. When problems arise, we have experienced litigators who have prosecuted and defended claims for auto dealerships throughout Maryland and the region. We represent dealers in consumer claims, employment counseling and litigation, intellectual property matters, regulatory compliance, licensing and distribution, supply contracts, real estate and REIT opportunities, e-commerce, and on environmental issues.
In short, we work closely with dealerships on virtually every aspect of their operations. This means we have a comprehensive understanding of their business circumstances and needs and the breadth and experience to handle virtually any issue a dealer might face.
The following are among the many matters we handle regularly for dealerships:
- Mergers, acquisitions, and asset and stock transactions, including spin offs, rollups, consolidations, and multiparty transactions. We also handle due diligence investigations when acquiring assets and helping sellers ready their businesses for sale. For example, we handled the sale of a family-owned, local dealership with multiple locations to a national chain of automobile dealerships;
- Litigation, including matters involving alleged breaches of warranty, negligent repair, finance and insurance issues, product liability issues, employment contract and discrimination claims, corporate governance issues, seller-buyer disputes, insurance claims, and other general business disputes;
- Employment matters, including employment and consulting agreements, non-compete and confidentiality agreements, salary-deferral stock options, phantom stock, and other compensation arrangements;
- Real estate and construction matters, including feasibility, acquisition, and zoning, as well as floor-plan and other financing, lease negotiations and review, and management of all types of commercial projects. (We have numerous contacts with brokers, financing sources, government agencies, and construction professionals and often assist in locating and building appropriate facilities.);
- Tax and succession planning, including new business formation and establishing complex structures that meet the tax objectives of multiple parties, such as owners, employees, outside investors, and joint-venture partners; and
- Debt and equity financing, including convertible debt, warrants, preferred stock, limited partnerships, mortgage-related securities, and securing Small Business Administration loans and other government-sponsored financing.