The Fourth Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Centra, determined defendant General Motors (GM) did not violate the Dealer Act (Vehicle and Traffic Law 463(2)(ff)(1)) by failing to notify plaintiff Chevrolet dealership of GM’s approval of the relocation of another Chevrolet dealership to an area about four miles from plaintiff’s dealership. The opinion focuses on statutory interpretation principles, the terms of the plaintiff’s dealership agreement with GM, and the application of federal and Michigan law:
We reject plaintiff’s contention that GM’s approval of Sharon’s relocation request ipso facto results in a modification of plaintiff’s franchise for which notice may be required under section 463 (2) (ff) (1). To construe section 463 (2) (ff) (1) to require notice to a dealer when a franchisor approves a relocation request of another dealer would essentially render section 463 (2) (cc) (1), which requires notice to certain dealers of relocations of other dealers, superfluous. It is well settled that “[a] court must consider a statute as a whole, reading and construing all parts of an act together to determine legislative intent . . . , and, where possible, should harmonize[] [all parts of a statute] with each other . . . and [give] effect and meaning . . . to the entire statute and every part and word thereof’ “… . Courts should construe a statute “to avoid rendering any of its language superfluous” … . Van Wie Chevrolet, Inc. v General Motors, LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 06583, 4th Dept 10-7-16
VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW (DEALER ACT, UNDER THE DEALER ACT, GENERAL MOTORS WAS NOT REQUIRED TO NOTIFY PLAINTIFF CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP OF GM’S APPROVAL OF THE RELOCATION OF ANOTHER CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP IN THE SAME AREA)/DEALER ACT (DEALER ACT, UNDER THE DEALER ACT, GENERAL MOTORS WAS NOT REQUIRED TO NOTIFY PLAINTIFF CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP OF GM’S APPROVAL OF THE RELOCATION OF ANOTHER CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP IN THE SAME AREA)