Several G-M dealers are suing General Motors in an attempt to keep their businesses open.
The twelve dealerships — including Bud Rier in Paisley — are among the 240 to 250 stores GM Canada plans to close within the next year.
They allege General Motors breached a contract that the company promised to renew as long as the dealerships met certain performance expectations.
Gary Rier — the son of founder Bud Rier — employs some 15 people and spent a quarter of a million dollars last year upgrading the operation to meet GM requirements.
GM plans to eliminate more than one-third of its Canadian dealerships by October 2010 in an attempt to cut costs and streamline its business.
The court filing against GM — outlines a brief history of the 12 dealerships, many of which were in their second or third generation and most of which spent big money — in some cases a few million dollars, to upgrade their dealerships before they received their termination notices.
They are seeking 1.5-million dollars each from General Motors, an injunction that prevents the company from terminating their dealer sales and service agreements and an unspecified amount of compensation for losses of profit, good will, and market share.
Industry analysts spent years criticizing GM for having far too many brands and an excessive number of dealers in the United States and Canada.