“Toyota steps up threat to end its agreement with Prime Motors of Saco” (May 11), by Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy, was a very unbalanced article.

Murphy reports that former CEO David Rosenberg recently filed for a preliminary injunction, but fails to note that Rosenberg’s first request in the same court was denied by the judge in January! The court said, “The plaintiffs (Rosenberg) argue that the defendants actions related to Rosenberg threaten the very existence of the business. The record as it stands now does not establish this.” In fact, from the oral arguments in December 2019 to before the pandemic, Prime became even more successful.

Some of our response was included in the article; however, it was buried at paragraph 13 of 15. Our response reads: “Even before Toyota sent this routine letter to reserve their rights on April 6th we have been negotiating with them to resolve all concerns. We have no intention of giving up or selling the five dealerships, particularly when four of them were selected by Toyota for its most prestigious President’s Award on March 30th.”

The headline and article inflated the importance of just one letter in a multimonth dialogue with Toyota. That reflects the agenda of a plaintiff who has already lost in court.

Prime Automotive has agreements in place with nine manufacturers and distributors representing 13 brands, the vast majority of our 56 stores. Everything has slowed during the pandemic, so applications remain pending with a few others to name CEO Todd Skelton as official dealer-operator.

Joseph Girardot

chief legal counsel, Prime Automotive Group

New Milford, Conn.

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