Because their dealer agreement says so. A contract is a contract.
Welcome to the Ford Heavy and Medium Truck Dealer CPA Class Action website
This site provides information concerning a class action brought on behalf of current and former Ford Dealers who purchased medium duty and heavy duty trucks from Ford between October 5, 1987 and the present.
What is this lawsuit about? This is an action for breach of contract brought by Westgate Ford Truck Sales, Inc. (“Westgate”), against Ford Motor Company (“Ford”). Westgate has been a Ford truck dealer in Youngstown, Ohio since 1973. Westgate instituted this lawsuit on its own behalf and as the representative of all Ford Dealers who purchased medium duty and heavy duty trucks (“medium/heavy trucks”) from Ford between October 5, 1987 and the present. Class Members are sometimes referred to in this Notice as “the Dealers”. Medium/heavy trucks are defined as trucks with a Ford series designation of 600 and above.
Westgate claims that Ford has breached the Sales and Service Agreement (referred to here as the “SSA”) of every Class Member. Specifically, Westgate alleges that Ford failed to comply with the product pricing provisions set forth in Paragraph 10 of every Dealer’s SSA. Under Paragraph 10, Ford is required to sell products to every Dealer using prices, charges and discounts that are published in advance of sale in accordance with dealer-wide Terms of Sale Bulletins. Westgate alleges that Ford violated this duty through the operation of pricing programs known as the Competitive Price Assistance Program and the Government Price Concession Program (referred to jointly as the “CPA Program”).
Westgate contends that around 1983, Ford began publishing to Dealers wholesale prices on medium/heavy trucks that were far in excess of the resale prices those trucks could command in the retail marketplace. This made it necessary for Dealers to ask Ford for discounts from the wholesale price in order to be able to profitably sell the trucks to retail consumers. The CPA Program was the mechanism through which Dealers asked for those discounts. There were two levels of discounts available under the CPA Program. The initial or minimum level of discount was published to all Dealers and was available on all medium/heavy trucks. This first level of CPA discount was originally known as the “Rainbow Schedule” and was later called “Sales Advantage.” When those initial discounts did not bring the Dealer’s wholesale price to a level below the expected retail price, the CPA Program provided for an appeal process. A Dealer could appeal to Ford to grant further price reductions known as “Appeal-Level CPA.”
Westgate alleges that, contrary to the duties imposed by Paragraph 10, Ford did not publish the amount of Appeal-Level CPA discount available on any truck, nor did it publish the prices of trucks receiving Appeal-Level CPA. Instead, Appeal-Level CPA was given at Ford’s discretion so that the maximum amount of discount available - and true net wholesale price - for a given truck was never known by the Dealers. Westgate claims Ford’s operation of the CPA Program made it possible for Ford to sell comparable trucks to Dealers at prices that varied widely. As a result, Ford sold like trucks to different Dealers at price differences as great as $15,000 per truck. Through this suit, the Dealers seek to recapture those differences and other losses caused by Ford’s breach of contract.
Ford denies all of Westgate’s material allegations and denies that it breached its duties under Paragraph 10. Ford claims that Appeal-Level CPA discounts were based entirely on a Dealer’s “competitive need.” Ford also contends that it satisfied its duty to publish prices and discounts by faxing CPA approvals to the Dealers, and by sending Dealers invoices for trucks after the sales were made. Alternatively, Ford claims it complied with its Paragraph 10 duties by publishing a CPA Manual.
Who represents the class? The Court has designated, that Westgate Ford Truck Sales, Inc. shall serve as the Class representative in this lawsuit. The attorneys that serve as lead counsel for the Class are: John A. Corr from Law Offices of John A. Corr, LLC, 301 Richard Way, Collegeville, PA 19426; Stephen A. Corr and Thomas E. Mellon of the law firm of Mellon, Webster & Shelly, 87 North Broad Street, Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901; James A. Lowe and Dennis P. Mulvihill from the law firm of Lowe, Eklund, Wakefield & Mulvihill, 610 Skylight Office Tower, 1660 West Second Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44113; and James A. Pikl from the law firm of Scheef & Stone, LLP, 2601 Network Blvd., Suite 102, Frisco, Texas 75034.
http://cpaclassaction.com/