If a dealer agreement ends, the supplier must pay or credit the dealer for specified inventory and related property, and the supplier gets possession of repurchased inventory after payment or credit.
Sec. 57.353. PAYMENTS OR CREDITS. (a) When a supplier or dealer terminates or otherwise discontinues the dealer agreement entered into between the two parties, the supplier shall pay to the dealer, or credit to the dealer's account, if the dealer has outstanding any sums owing the supplier: (1) an amount equal to 100 percent of the net equipment cost of all new, unsold, and undamaged equipment, less a downward adjustment for new, unsold, and undamaged equipment between 24 and 36 months old to reflect a reasonable allowance for refurbishment and the price another dealer will pay for the equipment; (2) an amount equal to 100 percent of the net equipment cost of all unsold, undamaged demonstrators, less a downward adjustment to reflect a reasonable allowance for refurbishment and the price another dealer will pay for the equipment; (3) an amount equal to 90 percent of the current net parts cost of new, unsold, and undamaged repair parts previously purchased from the supplier and held by the dealer on the date that the dealer agreement is terminated or expires; (4) an amount equal to five percent of the current net parts price of all repair parts returned to the supplier to compensate the dealer for the handling, packing, and loading of those repair parts for return to the supplier, unless the supplier elects to perform the handling, packing, and loading of the repair parts itself; (5) an amount equal to the fair market value of any specific data processing hardware or software that the supplier required the dealer to acquire or purchase to satisfy the requirements of the supplier, including computer equipment required and approved by the supplier to communicate with the supplier; and (6) an amount equal to 75 percent of the net cost, including shipping, handling, and set-up fees, of all specialized service or repair tools that: (A) were previously purchased pursuant to the requirements of the supplier within 15 years before the date of the applicable notification of termination of the dealer agreement; and (B) are unique to the supplier's product line and are complete and in good operating condition. (b) Fair market value of property subject to repurchase under Subsection (a)(5) is considered to be the acquisition cost of the property, including any shipping, handling, and set-up fees, less straight line depreciation of the acquisition cost over a three-year period. If the dealer purchased data processing hardware or software that exceeded the supplier's minimum requirements, the acquisition cost of the data processing hardware or software for purposes of this section is considered to be the acquisition cost of hardware or software of similar quality that did not exceed the minimum requirements of the supplier. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, with respect to machines with hour meters, demonstrators with less than 50 hours of use will be considered new, unsold, undamaged equipment subject to repurchase under this section. (d) On payment of the amount due under this section or on credit to the dealer's account of the amount required by this section, title to all inventory repurchased under this subchapter is transferred to the supplier, and the supplier is entitled to possession of the inventory. Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1039 (H.B. 3079), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.