Automotive

Stevens & Lee has an in-depth understanding of the unique legal and business challenges facing our clients in this rapidly changing industry.

We provide a wide range of counseling, transaction assistance, and litigation services to national and international automotive industry clients seeking guidance with industry-specific issues, as well as traditional legal matters such as general corporate, litigation, labor and employment, real estate, succession planning, immigration, executive compensation, employee benefits, and tax. Our cross-disciplinary legal team represents automotive manufacturers, captive financial entities, suppliers, and distributors in developing comprehensive solutions to strengthen and expand their businesses.

Advisory

• Establishment of national dealer networks for start-up and next-gen manufacturers
• Federal and state legal and regulatory compliance, including administrative laws
• Environmental law compliance
• Establishment and assistance with reinsurance programs
• Land use, real estate and zoning
• Consumer fraud, warranties, lemon law, consumer leasing and consumer finance litigation
• Administrative actions brought by the DMV and state Attorneys General
• Franchise matters
• Estate planning
• Trademark, Service Mark, Intellectual Property issues
• Succession planning (including ESOPs)

Finance/Transactional

• Mergers and acquisitions (asset, equity, real estate, and financing)
• Finance, banking, and insurance matters, including acting as national and regional outside counsel for several large captive finance companies and a manufacturer
• Asset-based lending, real estate lending, construction loans, floorplan financing and leasing
• Financial loan transactions, workouts and related litigation
• Bankruptcy matters on behalf of manufacturers and lenders
• Investment capital (e.g. private placements) for national dealer networks for start-up and next gen manufacturers

Commercial Disputes

• Franchisor/dealer disputes, including legal issues under the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act (FPA) and the Automobile Dealers’ Day in Court Act
• Trademark and intellectual property rights infringement disputes
• Class actions
• Construction development and disputes
• Replevin Actions
• Federal Truth-in-Lending Act and Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act
• Federal and state Fair Credit Reporting Act

Labor and Employment

• Union avoidance, initial union elections and union de-certifications
• Collective bargaining and grievance arbitrations
• Unfair labor practice charges
• Misclassification issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in connection with the Financing/Credit Department, and issues arising from commissioned employees
• Employee relations
• Employment litigation, such as wage-and-hour, discrimination claims and enforcement of non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements
• OSHA compliance
• Immigration
• Executive compensation
• Employee benefits

In addition, our affiliated FINRA-licensed investment bank, Griffin Financial Group, provides a wide range of services to our automotive industry clients.