199-c. Termination or refusal to renew a franchise without good cause prohibited; notice requirement; right of action. 1. Except as otherwise provided in this article, no distributor or agent thereof shall terminate, cancel or refuse to renew any franchise except for good cause, which shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) The dealer's failure to comply with a substantive requirement of a franchise agreement;
(b) The dealer's failure to act in good faith in carrying out the terms of the franchise.
(c) The distributor's failure to renew his lease of the service station premises, provided the distributor does not supply the service station with motor fuels for a period of one year after the expiration of the lease.
2. A distributor may elect not to renew the franchise due to the sale or lease of the service station premises owned by the distributor to other than a subsidiary or affiliate of the distributor for any use, provided the distributor does not supply the service station with motor fuels for a period of one year after such sale or lease; the sale or lease of the service station premises to a subsidiary or affiliate of the distributor for use other than as a service station; or the use of the service station premises by the distributor for other than as a service station.
3. No distributor may terminate, cancel or refuse to renew a franchise agreement for any reason unless he has given ninety days' written notice to the dealer of his intent to terminate, cancel or not renew such franchise, provided that in the event of the dealer's default under the terms and conditions of the franchise agreement as set out in paragraph a of subdivision one of this section, the distributor may, alternatively, give the dealer ten days' written notice to cure the default, and if the default has not been cured within such period, the distributor may terminate or cancel the franchise in accordance with the notice requirements of the franchise agreements, provided such notice is given within ten days or any other period mutually agreed upon in writing after the expiration of the ten-day default period.
4. A gasoline dealer may bring an action under this section against a distributor in any court of competent jurisdiction for wrongfully terminating, cancelling or refusing to renew a franchise and the court may award money damages and grant such equitable relief as may be proper.
Last modified: February 3, 2019