Houston partner Billy Donley was quoted in a May 15, 2009, Houston Chronicle article, "It's a Dread-Letter Day for GM Dealerships."
According to the article, General Motors recently sent letters to approximately 1,100 of its dealers, notifying them that they would have to close by late next year. These letters were sent one day after Chrysler sent similar letters to 789 of its dealers nationwide. GM dealers can stay open until October of next year, while Chrysler dealers have to close by June 9 if a bankruptcy judge approves Chrysler's downsizing plan.
A GM dealer who wanted to fight the forced closure would have more legal options than a Chrysler dealer, but taking on GM would still not be easy, said Donley. Since GM isn't under federal bankruptcy protection, a terminated GM dealer would be able to take advantage of more dealer-friendly state laws, Donley said. However, Donley said, "based on the current economic environment, I would predict that GM would be able to meet its burden necessary to terminate dealerships."