California Fair Dealership Law

Division 1, Part 2.9 of the Civil Code provides for the California Fair Dealership Law. Section 80 names it the California Fair Dealership Law.

Section 81 defines the following terms: “person,” “dealership,” “grantor,” “community of interest,” “dealer,” and “grant.”

Section 82 requires this part to be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies, which are specified.

Section 83 provides that no grantor, directly or indirectly, is to refuse to grant a dealership to any person because of any characteristic listed or defined in law.

Section 84 specifies that no grantor, directly or indirectly, may terminate, cancel, or refuse to renew a dealership agreement with a dealer because of any characteristic listed or defined in law.

Section 85 provides that no grantor or dealer, directly or indirectly, is to refuse to make or to consent to an assignment, sale, transfer, or bequest of a dealership to any person, or to the intestate succession to the dealership by any person, because of any characteristic listed or defined in law.

Section 86 provides that the prevailing party in any action based on a violation of the provisions of this part is entitled to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and taxable court costs.