FCA US and FCA Realty are being sued by two dealerships of the larger Ed Napleton Automotive Group in Federal Court in Illinois for allegations of false sales reporting, and using“strong-arm” tactics to get dealers to create “the appearance that FCA performance is “better than, in reality, it actually is.”
Fiat Chrysler said in response that it carried out an investigation of the facts, and has “determined that these allegations are baseless.” FCA said the plaintiffs were notified of this fact before they filed suit.
“This lawsuit is nothing more than the product of two disgruntled dealers who have failed to perform their obligations under the dealer agreements they signed with FCA US. They have consistently failed to perform since at least 2012, and have also used the threats of litigation over the last several months in a wrongful attempt to compel FCA US to reserve special treatment for them, including the allocation of additional open points in the US FCA network.”
“FCA finds it unfortunate and disappointing that reputable media would be willing to be used in questionable litigation practices without a full understanding of the facts,” a not so thinly veiled reference to Wall Street Journal coverage, among others.
