Supreme Court Declines to Hear Manufacturers’ Appeal

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by Deere, Kubota and Husqvarna challenging the New Hampshire Auto Dealer Bill of Rights, which retroactively extends the reach of the state’s automobile-dealer law to the farm equipment industry, thereby upending settled contractual rights and obligations.

In April, our Association accepted an invitation from the National Association of Manufacturers to join an amicus brief in support of the manufacturers’ appeal filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. In joining the brief, our Association established itself as a party affected by the law. We were not a party to the case.

While we were encouraged by some indications of the Court’s interest in the case, we were also aware that the Supreme Court, unlike the Court of Appeals, is not required to take all cases, and in fact usually agrees to hear fewer than 100 appeals in a normal session.

With a vacancy on the Court that is unlikely to be filled until late in its term, justices seemed even more reluctant to hear appeals this year. 

It is important to remember that the Supreme Court’s lack of action in this case does not create case law or set new legal precedent. It simply allows the prior decision by the New Hampshire Supreme Court to stand and SB 126 to become state law. 

Our Association maintains a database of various state laws relating to buyback, warranty and lemon laws on the members-only side of our website. Find it at FarmEquip.org/law.

Background on New Hampshire SB 126

In February 2013, SB 126 became the first bill of the legislative session to earn our outright opposition. The bill called for consolidating laws for auto industry dealers with several types of equipment dealers, including farm equipment.

It labeled almost everything our members manufacture as a “motor vehicle,” ignoring that most of the equipment does not even have a motor and cannot be used for road transportation.

In spite of opposition from our Association and others, on June 25, 2013, New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan signed SB 126 into law, which set off a series of legal challenges.

Trent Johnson, the Association’s legal counsel and a partner at Foley & Lardner, will join us at the Marketing & Distribution Convention in San Diego later this month.

He will address the implications of this case at our Dealer Relations Committee, which is 3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1.

The Bottom Line

Manufacturers of shortline equipment continue to compete with great vigor for local dealers’ business in every state and province, and in no way do they possess the ability, history or desire to use coercion, threats or intimidations to force any dealer into agreeing to one-sided language in any contract.

As we have in the past, our Association and its members welcome the opportunity to work with farm equipment dealers on any issues that need to be addressed.