“An industry-savvy mediator can make a difference in the rest of your life and so can a rookie.” — John Pico
Litigation Support, Mediation & Arbitration
Understanding the Business Can Be Just as Important as Understanding the Law
Successful litigation involving automobile dealerships often depends on more than understanding the law. It depends on understanding how automobile dealerships actually operate.
Dealerships are unlike almost any other business. Factory agreements, floorplan financing, warranty accounting, parts inventories, dealership financial statements, blue sky, image programs, and manufacturer policies all create issues unfamiliar to many attorneys, judges, mediators, arbitrators, and juries.
For more than fifty years, Advising Automobile Dealers LLC has helped attorneys, dealerships, lenders, and investors understand these issues by combining legal knowledge with decades of real-world dealership experience.
Whether serving as consultants, mediators, arbitrators, or expert witnesses, our objective is simple: help decision-makers understand the facts in the proper business context.
Litigation Support
Many attorneys are exceptional trial lawyers but may have limited exposure to the automobile industry. We help bridge that gap.
Our litigation support services include:
Case evaluation
Industry research
Financial statement analysis
Review of dealership operations
Discovery assistance
Deposition preparation
Expert witness services
Settlement evaluation
The value we provide is not simply industry knowledge—it is understanding how dealerships actually operate and explaining those practices in a manner judges, juries, and opposing counsel can understand.
Expert Witness Services
Not every case requires the same expertise.
Over the years we have developed relationships with experienced automotive professionals who have served successfully as expert witnesses in specialized areas of dealership operations.
When appropriate, we work with respected industry experts such whose backgrounds best match the issues involved in a particular case.
This allows us to assemble the right expertise for each assignment rather than attempting to make one individual fit every situation.
Mediation
Most business disputes are better resolved than prolonged.
The most effective mediator is not simply someone who understands legal procedure, but someone who also understands the business issues that brought the parties to the table.
An industry-savvy mediator can often recognize practical solutions that might otherwise be overlooked, saving substantial time, expense, and disruption.
Arbitration
Arbitration frequently places the decision in the hands of someone who may have little experience with automobile dealerships.
When that occurs, valuable time is often spent educating the arbitrator before the real issues can even be addressed.
Industry experience allows the discussion to begin at a much higher level, enabling everyone to focus on the actual dispute rather than first explaining how dealerships operate.
Experience Makes the Difference
One case illustrates why industry knowledge matters.
A District Attorney’s office filed a civil action supported by more than thirty-five consumer complaints covering a three-year period. The allegations appeared substantial.
After only two depositions, however, the case began to unravel.
The witnesses had not changed their testimony.
The difference was that they were finally being questioned by individuals who understood automobile dealerships and knew which questions to ask.
The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed.
That experience reinforced an important lesson:
When someone understands the automobile business, the answers often take on an entirely different meaning.
Whether you need litigation support, an experienced mediator, arbitration assistance, or an expert witness with dealership experience, Advising Automobile Dealers LLC can help you identify the right resources for your case.
Advising Automobile Dealers LLC We Could Make the Difference for you
