Larry Menke, Inc. v. DaimlerChrysler Motors Co., LLC

Larry Menke, Inc., doing business as Larry Menke Chrysler, and Larry Menke (collectively, Menke) appeal from a judgment of dismissal after the trial court sustained the demurrer filed by DaimlerChrysler Motors Company, LLC, and one of its employees, Louis Stavale (collectively, Chrysler). Menke had intervened as an additional plaintiff in Wester Motors’s (Wester) suit against Chrysler after Chrysler declined to approve Wester’s application to transfer its Dodge automobile dealership in Seaside, California, to Menke. Menke contends the trial court erred in concluding its first amended complaint stated no cause of action for violation of Vehicle Code section 11713.3, subdivision (e), which governs a manufacturer’s responsibilities to a franchisee seeking to transfer or assign its interest in an automobile dealership. Menke also challenges the trial court’s conclusion its complaint failed to state claims for intentional or negligent interference with prospective business advantage or for tortious interference with the franchise transfer contract agreed upon by Wester and Menke. Because section 11713.3, subdivision (e), applies by its express terms only to franchise…