General Motors Corporation v. State of Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board

State: Illinois

Docket No: 101585 & 101601 cons

Case Date: 01/08/2007

Preview:Docket Nos. 101585, 101601 cons.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS

GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION et al., Appellants, v. THE STATE OF ILLINOIS MOTOR VEHICLE REVIEW BOARD et al., Appellees. Opinion filed January 8, 2007.

CHIEF JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Freeman, Fitzgerald, Kilbride, Garman, and Burke concurred in the judgment and opinion. Justice Karmeier dissented, with opinion.

OPINION In this case, General Motors Corporation (GMC) sought to add two new automobile dealerships in the greater Chicago area: one on Chicago's far west side at Jacobs Twin Buick (Jacobs) and the other in Glenview, Illinois, at Loren Pontiac-Buick (Loren). Various existing GMC dealerships challenged the newly proposed dealerships by filing a protest with the State of Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board (Board) pursuant to the Motor Vehicle Franchise Act (Franchise Act or Act) (815 ILCS 710/1 et seq. (West 2004)), which

allows an existing dealer to file a protest when a manufacturer attempts to locate a new franchise within an existing dealer's relevant market area. It is undisputed that the proposed sites for the additional franchises (add points) were within the protesting dealers' relevant market area. The Board granted the protests, and the circuit court of Sangamon County confirmed that decision. GMC and Loren appealed, arguing that the Board failed to apply the Act's "good cause" standard in reaching its decision to grant the protests. GMC and Loren also argued that the Act is unconstitutional and that the Board's decision was against the manifest weight of the evidence. The appellate court rejected GMC's and Loren's arguments, with one justice dissenting. 361 Ill. App. 3d 271. We allowed the petitions for leave to appeal filed by GMC and Loren and have consolidated the cases. 210 Ill. 2d R. 315. We also allowed various organizations to file amicus curiae briefs on behalf of the respective parties. Loren has adopted the briefs of GMC before this court. BACKGROUND Illinois' Motor Vehicle Franchise Act is comparable to legislation adopted by a number of states designed to protect existing dealers and consumers from the negative impact of aggressive franchising practices by automobile manufacturers whose desires to establish excessive competing franchises are considered to be a potential threat to the public welfare. See Fireside Nissan, Inc. v. Fanning, 30 F.3d 206, 211 (1st Cir. 1994); 2 Franchise & Distribution L. & Prac.

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