{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/59.1-356.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/59.1-356.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/59.1-356.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/59.1-356.html"}],"law_id":82861,"edition_id":1,"section_id":82861,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-356","catch_line":"Transfer of business","history":"1988, c. 73.","full_text":"A\n\nNo supplier shall unreasonably withhold or delay consent to any transfer of the dealer’s business or transfer of the stock or other interest in the dealership, whenever the dealer to be substituted meets the material and reasonable qualifications and standards required of its dealers. Should a supplier determine that a proposed transferee does not meet its qualifications and standards, it shall give the dealer written notice thereof, stating the specific reasons for withholding consent. No prospective transferee shall be disqualified to be a dealer because it is a publicly held corporation. A supplier shall have forty-five days to consider a dealer’s request to make a transfer under this subsection.B\n\nNotwithstanding any provision in subsection A of this section, no supplier shall withhold consent to, or in any manner retain a right of prior approval of, the transfer of the dealer’s business to a member or members of the family of the dealer or the principal owner of the dealer. As used in this subsection, “family” means and includes the spouse, parent, siblings, children, stepchildren and lineal descendants, including those by adoption of the dealer or principal owner of the dealer.C\n\nWhenever a transfer of a dealer’s business occurs, the transferee shall assume all the obligations imposed on and succeed to all the rights held by the selling dealer by virtue of any agreement, consistent with this chapter, between the selling dealer and one or more suppliers entered into prior to the transfer.D\n\nIn any dispute as to whether a supplier has denied consent in violation of this section, the supplier shall have the burden of proving a substantial and reasonable justification for the denial of consent.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":297016,"text":"No supplier shall unreasonably withhold or delay consent to any transfer of the dealer’s business or transfer of the stock or other interest in the dealership, whenever the dealer to be substituted meets the material and reasonable qualifications and standards required of its dealers. Should a supplier determine that a proposed transferee does not meet its qualifications and standards, it shall give the dealer written notice thereof, stating the specific reasons for withholding consent. No prospective transferee shall be disqualified to be a dealer because it is a publicly held corporation. A supplier shall have forty-five days to consider a dealer’s request to make a transfer under this subsection.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":297017,"text":"Notwithstanding any provision in subsection A of this section, no supplier shall withhold consent to, or in any manner retain a right of prior approval of, the transfer of the dealer’s business to a member or members of the family of the dealer or the principal owner of the dealer. As used in this subsection, “family” means and includes the spouse, parent, siblings, children, stepchildren and lineal descendants, including those by adoption of the dealer or principal owner of the dealer.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":297018,"text":"Whenever a transfer of a dealer’s business occurs, the transferee shall assume all the obligations imposed on and succeed to all the rights held by the selling dealer by virtue of any agreement, consistent with this chapter, between the selling dealer and one or more suppliers entered into prior to the transfer.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"D"},"3":{"id":297019,"text":"In any dispute as to whether a supplier has denied consent in violation of this section, the supplier shall have the burden of proving a substantial and reasonable justification for the denial of consent.","type":"section","prefixes":["D"],"prefix":"D","entire_prefix":"D","prefix_anchor":"D","level":1,"prior_prefix":"C"}},"ancestry":[{"id":15001,"edition_id":1,"name":"Heavy Equipment Dealer Act","identifier":"28","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12809,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:51:25","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:51:25","permalink":{"id":261001,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15001,"identifier":"28","token":"59.1\/28","url":"\/59.1\/28\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12809,"edition_id":1,"name":"Trade and Commerce","identifier":"59.1","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:54","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:54","permalink":{"id":259521,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12809,"identifier":"59.1","token":"59.1","url":"\/59.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":57216,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-353","catch_line":"Chapter title; definitions","url":"\/59.1-353\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-353","metadata":false},{"id":76110,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-354","catch_line":"Cancellation","url":"\/59.1-354\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-354","metadata":false},{"id":60399,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-355","catch_line":"Notice of intent to terminate","url":"\/59.1-355\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-355","metadata":false},{"id":82861,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-356","catch_line":"Transfer of business","url":"\/59.1-356\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-356","metadata":false},{"id":60800,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-357","catch_line":"Notices","url":"\/59.1-357\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-357","metadata":false},{"id":59059,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-358","catch_line":"Remedies","url":"\/59.1-358\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-358","metadata":false},{"id":70127,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-359","catch_line":"Management","url":"\/59.1-359\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-359","metadata":false},{"id":79189,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-360","catch_line":"Waiver of chapter void","url":"\/59.1-360\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-360","metadata":false},{"id":59455,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-361","catch_line":"Applicability","url":"\/59.1-361\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-361","metadata":false},{"id":63941,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-362","catch_line":"Reasonableness and good faith","url":"\/59.1-362\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-362","metadata":false},{"id":87117,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-363","catch_line":"Exclusions","url":"\/59.1-363\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-363","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":60399,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-355","catch_line":"Notice of intent to terminate","url":"\/59.1-355\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-355","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":60800,"structure_id":15001,"section_number":"59.1-357","catch_line":"Notices","url":"\/59.1-357\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-357","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/59.1-356\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1988. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 73 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1988 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online.<\/p>","references":[{"id":59059,"section_number":"59.1-358","catch_line":"Remedies","order_by":null,"url":"\/59.1-358\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":261015,"object_type":"law","relational_id":82861,"identifier":"59.1-356","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-356","url":"\/59.1-356\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/59.1-356\/","token":"59.1\/28\/59.1-356","dublin_core":{"Title":"Transfer of business","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 59.1-356","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> No supplier<\/span> shall unreasonably withhold or delay consent to any transfer of the dealer<\/span>’s business or transfer of the stock or other interest in the dealership, whenever the dealer<\/span> to be substituted meets the material<\/span> and reasonable qualifications and standards required of its dealers<\/span>. Should a supplier<\/span> determine that a proposed transferee does not meet its qualifications and standards, it shall give the dealer<\/span> written notice thereof, stating the specific reasons for withholding consent. No prospective transferee shall be disqualified to be a dealer<\/span> because it is a publicly held corporation. A supplier<\/span> shall have forty-five days to consider a dealer<\/span>’s request to make a transfer under this subsection. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> Notwithstanding any provision in subsection A of this section, no supplier<\/span> shall withhold consent to, or in any manner retain a right of prior approval of, the transfer of the dealer<\/span>’s business to a member or members of the family<\/span> of the dealer<\/span> or the principal owner of the dealer<\/span>. As used in this subsection, “family<\/span>” means and includes the spouse, parent, siblings, children, stepchildren and lineal descendants, including those by adoption of the dealer<\/span> or principal owner of the dealer<\/span>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> Whenever a transfer of a dealer<\/span>’s business occurs, the transferee shall assume all the obligations imposed on and succeed to all the rights held by the selling dealer<\/span> by virtue of any agreement<\/span>, consistent with this chapter, between the selling dealer<\/span> and one or more suppliers<\/span> entered into prior to the transfer. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

D.<\/span> In any dispute as to whether a supplier<\/span> has denied consent in violation of this section, the supplier<\/span> shall have the burden of proving a substantial and reasonable justification for the denial of consent. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nTRANSFER OF BUSINESS (\u00a7 59.1-356)\n\nA. No supplier shall unreasonably withhold or delay consent to any transfer of\nthe dealer’s business or transfer of the stock or other interest in the\ndealership, whenever the dealer to be substituted meets the material and\nreasonable qualifications and standards required of its dealers. Should a\nsupplier determine that a proposed transferee does not meet its qualifications\nand standards, it shall give the dealer written notice thereof, stating the\nspecific reasons for withholding consent. No prospective transferee shall be\ndisqualified to be a dealer because it is a publicly held corporation. A\nsupplier shall have forty-five days to consider a dealer’s request to make\na transfer under this subsection.\n\nB. Notwithstanding any provision in subsection A of this section, no supplier\nshall withhold consent to, or in any manner retain a right of prior approval of,\nthe transfer of the dealer’s business to a member or members of the family\nof the dealer or the principal owner of the dealer. As used in this subsection,\n“family” means and includes the spouse, parent, siblings, children,\nstepchildren and lineal descendants, including those by adoption of the dealer\nor principal owner of the dealer.\n\nC. Whenever a transfer of a dealer’s business occurs, the transferee shall\nassume all the obligations imposed on and succeed to all the rights held by the\nselling dealer by virtue of any agreement, consistent with this chapter, between\nthe selling dealer and one or more suppliers entered into prior to the transfer.\n\nD. In any dispute as to whether a supplier has denied consent in violation of\nthis section, the supplier shall have the burden of proving a substantial and\nreasonable justification for the denial of consent.\n\nHISTORY: 1988, c. 73.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}