Miller v. Superior Court

I. Introduction

Sometime after petitioners Ruth and Roger Miller bought a Honda dealership in Huntington Beach they were sued for not making payments to the sellers. The Millers then filed a cross-complaint against Honda for fraud and unfair business practices. In essence, the Millers alleged that they could not make any money because they refused to bribe Honda executives to obtain their fair share of popular Honda models. On demurrer, the trial court stayed the cross-complaint indefinitely, pending review by an administrative agency known as the California New Motor Vehicle Board. The Millers then brought this writ proceeding.

To this date, a solid phalanx of Court of Appeal decisions have held that all disputes between new car dealers and manufacturers must be litigated first with the New Motor Vehicle Board, not in state court. (See Yamaha Motor Corp. v. Superior Court (1986) 185 Cal.App.3d 1232 [ 230 Cal.Rptr. 382 ] (Yamaha I); Yamaha Motor Corp. v. Superior Court (1987) 195 Cal.App.3d 652 [ 240 Cal.Rptr. 806 ] (Yamaha II); Ray Fladeboe Lincoln-Mercury, Inc. v. New Motor Vehicle Bd. (1992) 10 Cal.App.4th 51 [ 12 Cal.Rptr.2d 598 ]; Mathew Zaheri Corp. v. Mitsubishi…