- 7 -
the Cordes corporations was either selling, or financing
customers’ purchases of, motor vehicles.
Eddie Cordes, Inc., was incorporated in Oklahoma on January
2, 1963, as an authorized dealership for Jeep-Eagle and
eventually Dodge vehicles. Edmund Cordes, Inc. (known as Cordes
Dodge, Inc., until February 16, 1989), was incorporated in
Oklahoma on January 2, 1967, as an authorized dealership for
Dodge vehicles. John Cordes, Inc., was incorporated in Oklahoma
on June 13, 1983, as an authorized dealership for Chevrolet,
Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and General Motors vehicles. We
collectively refer to Edmund Cordes, Inc., John Cordes, Inc., and
Eddie Cordes, Inc., as the Cordes family dealerships. CFC
operated mainly to finance new and used vehicles purchased by
customers from the Cordes family dealerships.
Each of the Cordes family dealerships was governed by a
franchise agreement with the vehicle manufacturer whose cars it
sold. Each franchise agreement identified an individual as the
franchise holder and bound that individual to specific
restrictions. The two common restrictions relevant herein
required the franchise holder (1) to maintain direct ownership of
a certain minimum percentage of stock of that Cordes family
dealership and (2) to maintain active operational control of the
respective Cordes family dealership. The franchise holder had to
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011