Ford Motor Co. vs. TxDoT (Tex.App.- Austin 2008)

Austin Court of Appeals reverses the Board's order assessing a fine against Ford in this cause and remands the cause to the Director of the Motor Vehicle Division of the Texas Department of Transportation for reconsideration in light of a correct application of the Court's holdings in Metro I and further proceedings consistent with its opinion.

Ford Motor Company v. Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation and Metro Ford Truck Sales, Inc., No. (Tex. App. - Austin, May 1, 2008)() (Before Justices Patterson, Pemberton and Waldrop)
Ford Motor Company v. Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation and Metro Ford Truck Sales, Inc.--Appeal from of County

Excerpt from opinion:

Ford Motor Company appeals from the order by the Motor Vehicle Board of the Texas Department of Transportation fining Ford $10,000 for improperly resisting the transfer of the Ford truck sales franchise assigned to Metro Ford Truck Sales, Inc. We conclude that the Board's order must be reversed because of the Board's failure to give proper effect to a previous decision in a related case by this Court. Accordingly, we reverse the Board's order and remand this cause for further proceedings.

This cause is part of a long-running dispute between Ford and Metro, a Ford franchisee. (1) In 1995, Ford attempted to terminate Metro's franchise. Metro protested, prompting a proceeding before the Board to determine whether Ford had good cause to terminate the franchise (Metro I). See Tex. Occ. Code Ann. § 2301.453 (West 2004). That protest triggered entry of a statutory stay that prevented the parties from committing any act or omission that would affect a legal right, duty, or privilege of any party before the Board. Id. § 2301.803 (West 2004). In 1998, the Board found that Ford had good cause to terminate the franchise, but imposed conditions on the termination--including that Ford allow Metro to sell the franchise. The district court affirmed the good cause finding, reversed the imposition of conditions on the termination as unlawful, and remanded for further proceedings. This Court affirmed the district court's judgment. Ford Motor Co. v. Motor Vehicle Bd., 21 S.W.3d 744, 748-54 (Tex. App.--Austin 2000, pet. denied). The supreme court denied review on April 5, 2001.