West Virginia Honda Point to Open as Judge Rules Against Competing Dealer
U.S. District Court Judge Brendan Hurson has denied a motion calling for a restraining order and preliminary injunction against American Honda Motor Co. by the owners of Hagerstown (Md.) Honda. The decision clears the way for a new franchise a half hour’s drive south and across the West Virginia border.
Despite the ongoing lawsuit — and barring further developments — the Carter Myers Automotive-owned Honda of Martinsburg will open its doors Tuesday. Hagerstown Honda filed suit against Honda in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland August 17, about six weeks after being notified by the factory that the new point, a former Stellantis dealership, would go live in September.
In legal filings, plaintiff’s attorneys claim the new franchise is part of a multifaceted campaign to undermine the 35-year-old Maryland store, arguing the factory “has now decided to take [Hagerstown Honda’s] market away — not by lawful process but by fiat.”
Automotive News’s Eric Freedman was first to report the story.
