News
Bellavia Gentile files lawsuit against Saab
A month after being retained by 163 Saab dealers nationwide, the Mineola law firm of Bellavia Gentile & Associates has filed an involuntary Chapter 11 lawsuit against Saab Cars North America.
Saab Automobiles, the parent company of Saab Cars, filed for bankruptcy in Sweden on Dec. 19, 2011, less than two years after General Motors jettisoned the struggling automaker.
A national council of...
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Saab's U.S. Arm Will Be Liquidated
The administrator handling Saab Cars North America's finances told creditors last week that the company will be liquidated.
"We notified creditors that it is our opinion that there is no way to salvage the company," said Jim McTevia, of McTevia & Associates, the administrator appointed to operate the U.S. distribution arm.
Parent company Saab Automobile filed for liquidation Dec. 19 in a...
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Press Release
Over 140 of the 188 Saab dealers nationwide have retained the law firm of Bellavia Gentile & Associates, LLP, to represent the dealers in their claims against Saab Cars, N.A., a subsidiary of the Swedish car manufacturer, Saab Automobiles. Saab Automobiles filed for Bankruptcy in Sweden on December 19, 2011.
"Saab dealers are owed substantial amounts...
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Press Release
Attorney Leonard A. Bellavia has dedicated his career to fighting for the rights of US automobile dealers and franchise owners. Now, he wants to take that fight to the US Treasury Department - who Bellavia believes participated in legal misconduct by ordering the closing of 789 Chrysler Dealerships as part of the Chrysler Bankruptcy in 2009. The 27 GM dealers who did not sign...
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Press Release
First there were widespread dealership closings by General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC as part of their post-bankruptcy reorganization plans.
Then there were dealership-auto maker arbitration hearings ordered by the U.S. Congress after many dealers complained about the shutdowns.
Now come post-arbitration lawsuits by dealers in federal and state courts. They mainly target Chrysler,...
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Some Dealers Savor Arbitration Wins, But Concerns Linger
Chrysler Group LLC won a large majority of cases appearing before arbitrators in American Arbitration Assn. hearings.
But in a number of dealer wins, arbitrators looked beyond Chrysler and General Motors Co.'s post-bankruptcy business cases for restructuring their dealer networks.
Considerations of the public interest weighed heavily when an arbitrator in Eagle Auto Mall's termination...
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Chrysler sued by 4 more stores that won in arbitration
Dealers claim they received ‘unreasonable' letters of intent
WASHINGTON -- Chrysler Group was sued today by four rejected dealerships, which claim that they received “unreasonable and unconscionable” letters of intent after prevailing in arbitration.
The lawsuit raises to nine the number of plaintiffs making such a claim against the automaker.
The joint suit filed in U.S. District Court...
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Chrysler Dealers Find Barriers to Re-entry
After a year of fighting Chrysler’s decision to cast aside his dealership, Jim Bickford expected to be back running Westminster Dodge, the only Chrysler franchise in Boston.
An arbitrator last month declared the dealership “a proven performer, with an experienced, enthusiastic and competent management team, which has earned the right to continue.”
But Mr. Bickford is still not sure whether...
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Handful of Dealers Savor Arbitration Victories
As the clock winds down, Chrysler Group LLC still is winning in a large majority of cases appearing before arbitrators in American Arbitration Assn. hearings.
The scoreboard: Chrysler 71, dealers 31. Chrysler says seven decisions are pending. Final numbers are expected by the end of July.
But in a number of dealer wins, arbitrators looked beyond Chrysler and General Motors Co.’s...
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Dorchester dealer reclaims right to sell new Dodges
Westminster Motors in Dorchester, which lost its status as a Chrysler dealer last year, won an arbitration ruling yesterday that restored its ability to sell new Dodge cars and trucks — making it one of only a handful of Chrysler dealerships to reverse a shut-down order.
The dealership had been selling used cars since last summer, when its agreement with Chrysler was terminated. Jim Bickford,...
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Chrysler, GM Close In on Dealer Arbitration Cases
Chrysler Group LLC continues to win the vast majority of dealer arbitration cases coming before the American Arbitration Assn.
The scoreboard: As of July 9, with 73 cases completed, arbitrators decided for Chrysler in 54 cases and in19 for dealers.
More than 125 of the 418 filed arbitration cases have been dismissed, withdrawn or abandoned, says Chrysler. Less than 10 cases remain to be...
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LI dealer stops Chrysler's move to halt franchise
Last year, Chrysler Group Llc, mired in bankruptcy proceedings, terminated 789 dealerships across the country, saying it had too many for its diminished market share.
Among the terminated was one of Long Island's largest Chrysler dealers, Eagle Auto Mall in Riverhead. Eagle was one of about 200 dumped Chrysler dealers that began to fight the auto giant in an arbitration to regain their...
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Chrysler picked wrong N.Y. dealer to close, arbitrator rules
WASHINGTON -- Chrysler Group made the wrong choice in deciding to keep open one New York state dealership and reject another, said an arbitrator who relied on performance data for both stores.
The arbitration for Terry Chrysler-Jeep in Burnt Hills, N.Y., may be the first in which comparative operating data, including sales, was used, said the Terry dealership's lawyer, John Gentile. The data...
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BGA Launches New Website
BGA is pleased to announce the immediate release of their greatly anticipated new website.
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Bellavia Gentile & Associates in the New York Times - Defending Their Dealerships
Mark Calisi says he believes he lost his Chrysler-Jeep dealership on Long Island because he irritated a company executive.
Yale King was told that his Jeep and Buick-Pontiac-GMC stores near Denver were no longer wanted, even though he regularly doubled the carmakers’ sales goals.
James Painter and his 10 children cannot understand why Chrysler eliminated the two Utah dealerships they ran...
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Leonard Bellavia Bankruptcy Photos
On Yahoo!: Leonard Bellavia, left, attorney for one of the Chrysler dealerships, enters US Bankruptcy Court, Friday, May 29, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano).
On Zimbio.com:...
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Plan to ax dealers not Chrysler's decision
NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - A lawyer for Chrysler dealers facing closure as part of the automaker's bankruptcy reorganization said on Tuesday he believes Chrysler executives do not support a plan to eliminate a quarter of its retail outlets. Lawyer Leonard Bellavia, of Bellavia Gentile & Associates, who represents some of the terminated dealers, said he deposed Chrysler President Jim Press on...
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LI Attorney Objects to Chrysler Bankruptcy
A Long Island attorney is furiously working on filing an objection to the U.S. government-backed bankruptcy and sale of Chrysler to Fiat.
Leonard Bellavia, of Mineola’s Bellavia Gentile and Associates, said Wednesday that he is finishing up his brief, due by 4 p.m. Thursday, on behalf of 25 dealerships on the east coast, including four on Long Island, to send to Judge Arthur J. Gonzalez, a...
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Two rejected Chrysler dealers seek company e-mails in arbitration
WASHINGTON -- Two rejected Chrysler Group dealers plan to ask a federal bankruptcy judge tomorrow to unseal internal Chrysler e-mails that were personally critical of them so they can use the messages in arbitration.
Former Chrysler dealers Jim Tarbox of North Kingstown, R.I., and Mark Calisi of Riverhead, N.Y., said in a motion that the Chrysler managers' e-mails show that the company closed...
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Settlement of class-action advertising case is a reminder for dealers to stand tough – and Together
It was a long battle. But for the approximately 40 auto dealers who sued Newsday back in mid-2004 on fraud and antitrust charges related to the Long Island (NY) newspaper’s advertising rates, it was worth it. At the end of February, the dealers – many of them small and family-owned businesses which collectively represented Newsday’s biggest advertisers – entered into a settlement agreement with...
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