Stephen Becker Automobile group Inc files suit against Shelby American Inc

[stephen_becker]

In a move to fight back against alleged acts of unfair competition and breach of its Dealer Agreement, Stephen Becker Automotive Group, Inc. DBA Planet Shelby Cobra has filed suit today in Los Angeles Superior Court against Shelby American, Inc., a subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International, Inc. a publicly traded corporation symbol: CSBI

April 10, 2015 (MMD Newswire) -- In its Complaint, Stephen Becker Automotive Group alleges that in its Dealer Agreement with Shelby American, Inc ("SAI"), SAI was required to sell its vehicles "through a network of Shelby authorized independent dealers," such as Plaintiff. Additionally, pursuant to the Agreement, Plaintiff alleges that SAI was required to refer any sales leads it obtained, through its website or by any other means, to authorized dealerships like Plaintiff. The Complaint alleges that in December of 2014, SAI began to engage in direct sales of vehicles to members of the general public and therefore stopped referring customers to Plaintiff. In addition, the Complaint alleges that SAI failed to allocate its 2015 Anniversary Vehicles to the independent dealerships according to a fair or reasonable formula as required by California law.

The Complaint alleges that SAI's conduct violated Plaintiff's Dealer Agreement as well as California and Nevada statutes against unfair competition. The Complaint seeks unspecified damages for loss of investment, lost interest, loss of business goodwill and lost profits on business revenues that would have been earned if SAI acted in good faith and dealt fairly with Plaintiff. The complaint also seeks unspecified punitive damages claiming that SAI acted with a conscious disregard for Plaintiff's rights, and with the intent to injure Plaintiff such as to constitute oppression, fraud, or malice under California Civil Code Section 3294.

The Law Offices of Michael A. Brewer filed the lawsuit on behalf of Stephen Becker Automotive Group. Mr. Brewer can be reached at 2020 Main Street, Suite 900, Irvine, CA 92614, or at (949) 679-6060

Superior Court of the state of California for the Count of Los Angeles, Central District. Case Number: BC577978

See complaint here: http://mmdnewswire.com/images/press-...t-BC577978.pdf

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[jhv48]

Well, there goes my theory that the SAI dealerships bought up all the 50th anniversary cars.

[ChiChris]

Didn't he sue SAI before?

[Lemans 63]

according to our dealer contract, shelby american can only sell cars through authorized SA dealers which means they can't sell a car to anyone but their dealers. They have violated the contract which their own attorneys wrote up with the dealer network. We tried to get a anniversary car ordered and were told they were sold out. In talking to other dealers about what they ordered it looks like the dealer network only got half the cars so looks like Shelby is now competing with its own dealer network. This would be like Ford or GM selling cars they make to the general public. They have considerably less invested than a dealer so its unfair business practice. Like before it looks like Shelby has messed with the wrong person and Im sure the judge that hears this case will shake is head and say. The law is the law.

[RodKnock]

All I can say is, lawsuits continue to follow Carroll Shelby even posthumously.

[sea2jet]

Looks like my Shelby stock is going to take a hit. No early retirement for me, LOL...

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by sea2jet

Looks like my Shelby stock is going to take a hit. No early retirement for me, LOL...

That happened right after I bought it for $1.00. Today it's at .18 and it hovers around that number. The stock is worth more printed on paper and sold as a memento on eBay.

[dallas_]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

Today it's at .18 and it hovers around that number. The stock is worth more printed on paper and sold as a memento on eBay.

Dang, it's not even worth the effort to short it at that number.

[NewYorkGuy]

The only company winning here is Kirkham motors.

[ACademic]

Originally Posted by NewYorkGuy

The only company winning here is Kirkham motors.

You're wrong (again). The law firms on both sides trump all.

[mikeinatlanta]

"The only company winning here is Kirkham motors."

Let's not forget The Law Offices of Michael A. Brewer and whoever represents SAI, although their lawyers probably give a volume discount.

[mikeinatlanta]

Originally Posted by ACademic

You're wrong (again). The law firms on both sides trump all.

Beat me to it.

[NewYorkGuy]

Originally Posted by ACademic

You're wrong (again). The law firms on both sides trump all.

what happened to previous lawsuit by mr. becker against sai? no thread in archives.

[ffr 1137]

Love the last sentence..."the Count of LA"...

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by Lemans 63

according to our dealer contract, shelby american can only sell cars through authorized SA dealers which means they can't sell a car to anyone but their dealers. They have violated the contract which their own attorneys wrote up with the dealer network.

Is there anything in the dealer contract which precludes Shelby American, Inc. and/or Carroll Shelby International, Inc. from establishing their own dealership as a separate legal entity? Presumably there is but, if not, the courts may well treat such a dealership as just another dealership, albeit one receiving preferential treatment.

[REAL 1]

If Becker is bringing suit why aren't all the other dealers also bringing suit? Isn't it the same dealer contract for all?

Anytime you fellas feel like cutting lawyers out of the loop in legal disputes there's no problem. All you have to do handle the litigation yourself. Let's see how that works out.

[Lemans 63]

Originally Posted by REAL 1

If Becker is bringing suit why aren't all the other dealers also bringing suit? Isn't it the same dealer contract for all?

Anytime you fellas feel like cutting lawyers out of the loop in legal disputes there's no problem. All you have to do handle the litigation yourself. Let's see how that works out.

if it becomes a class action suit all the dealers will probably be involved. This is just the first salvo Im sure.

[REAL 1]

If you guys need a good class-action attorney PM me.

[Tommy]

Forgive the tangent, but I recently received notice that I was an aggrieved party in a class action suit. All I had to do was take a trip to the courthouse, pay some copying fees, get some documents notarized, and mail it all in to receive my $48 share of a multi-million dollar lawsuit against some deep pocketed corporation. Of course the attorneys representing me and the thousands of other parties were taking the lion's share of the payment. I decided it wasn't worth the effort ..... for me.

[gmonsen]

Shelby may not be selling enough cars to get by through the dealerships. That could be because the market isn't strong enough right now. Its easy for their management to come to the conclusion that selling a few cars at retail might bolster their revenues a good bit, since it eliminates the dealer slice of the profits. But it suggests that Shelby isn't doing that well. I don't follow the stock, but if it went from $1 to $0.18, that doesn't suggest they are doing well.

G