Colleen McDonald of Northville won one arbitration case to reopen her Livonia Chrysler-Jeep dealership, but lost her bid to reopen Century Dodge in Taylor, the Detroit Free Press reported.

“It’s bittersweet,” McDonald said today after learning of arbitrator Tracy Allen’s split decision. “I am excited about winning one, but I though we could win both of them.”

McDonald becomes the third former Chrysler dealer to prevail through arbitration. The other two are Bill Hahn of Village Chrysler-Jeep in Royal Oak and Bruce Campbell, who plans to reopen his Dodge showroom in Redford Township.

The only woman owner of a Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge franchise in metro Detroit, was among the 789 dealers Chrysler terminated in June as part of its government-backed restructuring. She also had closed a Chevrolet dealership in Farmington Hills.

She said she employed about 125 people between her Chrysler-Jeep and Dodge businesses. Initially she plans to hire between 40 and 50 to reopen Livonia Chrysler-Jeep on Plymouth Road to get sales and service departments up and running.

Chrysler said that of 418 arbitration cases initiated, more than 125 were dismissed or withdrawn and 150 were settled. Of 97 arbitrators’ decisions rendered so far Chrysler prevailed in 69 cases, dealers won 28. Nine decisions are pending, including that of Joe Ricci, whose Dodge dealership in Dearborn has closed. Only one case has yet to be heard.

“The decisions of a great majority of the arbitrators validate that our dealer network plans are not only appropriate, but essential to Chrysler’s future success,” the company said in a statement.

From 3,200 dealers before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 30, 2009, Chrysler now has 2,315 dealers, said spokesman Mike Palese. The automaker intends to have 2,300, each selling Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram truck models by the end of 2011.

The American Arbitration Association has said it wants to resolve all Chrysler dealer arbitrations by the end of July.

Two Denver-area auto dealers that Chrysler Group had sought to drop as part of a massive reorganization have won at arbitration, Forbes.com reported.

Medved Autoplex in Castle Rock and the Phil Long Jeep-Chrysler dealership in Denver would rejoin Chrysler’s dealer network if they meet standard requirements for dealers, Chrysler said.

“That’s outstanding news,” Colorado Automobile Dealers Association President Tim Jackson said.

Dealership representatives weren’t immediately available for comment Monday, but Jackson said he expected both dealerships would try to rejoin Chrysler’s network.

Chrysler said the Medved dealership in Jefferson County lost at arbitration. Earlier, the automaker won cases involving two other Colorado dealers and settled with King Auto Group in Longmont.

WASHINGTON – In the first lawsuit of its kind, a closed Missouri dealership that prevailed in arbitration over Chrysler Group claims that it received a letter of intent that violates the federal dealer arbitration law, Automotive News reported.

Century Motor Corp., of Wentzville, contends that dealerships seeking reinstatement have to meet conditions not required of the thousands of Chrysler dealerships that were never terminated.

The requirements also were not imposed on dealerships awarded franchises after bankruptcy and before the arbitration law was enacted in December, according to the complaint, filed Thursday, June 17, in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.

The suit says letters of intent given to terminated dealerships that filed arbitration claims should be the same as those given to stores that survived Chrysler’s bankruptcy.

Chrysler confirmed today that the suit was the first filed over a letter of intent received by a terminated dealer in arbitration. The automaker, controlled by Fiat S.p.A. since its government-sponsored bankruptcy a year ago, declined additional comment.

“We were outraged by the letter of intent,” Kevin Mock, Century’s general manager, said in an interview with Automotive News. “We have 20 years and millions and millions of dollars invested in this franchise, and we couldn’t just sit back and wait for something to happen.”

After receiving the letter of intent, the dealership and its lawyer tried to negotiate with Chrysler over the terms but were “stonewalled,” Mock said. The dealership, located in a suburb of St. Louis, is owned by John Mock, 62, and his brother Frank, 54.

A year ago, Chrysler closed 789 dealerships, or a quarter of its dealer network. In January, about 400 of the rejected stores gave notice of their intent to file arbitration claims.

The latest letters of intent violate the federal law’s mandate that they be “customary and usual,” Century Motors’ suit alleges.

Under the arbitration law, Chrysler and General Motors have seven business days after an arbitration loss “to provide the dealer a customary and usual letter of intent to enter into a sales and service agreement.”

“Chrysler is intentionally, knowingly and willfully thwarting the law,” claims the seven-page suit filed by Century’s attorney, Allen Press of the Green Jacobson law firm in St. Louis.

One different provision in the new letter of intent would nullify the letter if an existing dealer protested the addition of Century and this protest were not dismissed or denied in 30 days, the complaint alleges.

Another provision would forbid Century to protest if a new dealership were added to its market, the suit claims.

Dealerships must sign letters of intent if they are to be reinstated via franchise agreements, also known as sales and service agreements.

Chrysler has issued letters of intent to two sets of rejected dealerships that filed arbitration claims: the 50 that were given these letters in March and April, before their arbitration hearings were held, and many of the 11 that have won in arbitration since April.

A number of the 50 that received letters of intent this spring said at the time that they didn’t intend to sign them because of some of the same provisions cited in Century’s suit.

WASHINGTON – House Minority Leader John Boehner retracted a statement that a rejected General Motors dealership in Ohio prevailed in arbitration while sticking to his affirmation that the store would be reinstated, reported Automotive News.

Rep. Boehner, R-Ohio, issued a statement Monday that omitted the opening sentence of his earlier release that said he had been told by GM that Rose Chevrolet “has prevailed in arbitration with GM.”

However, the latest statement continued to maintain that GM told the House’s top Republican that Rose Chevrolet of Hamilton, Ohio, will “remain in business.”

Boehner’s new statement did little to clear up the dealership’s confusion.

The owner of Rose Chevrolet, Ed Larkin, said he hasn’t heard yet from GM or the arbitrator about the resolution of his case.

“If GM wants us to be part of the network, that’s what we want,” said Larkin, 39, whose family has owned the dealership since 1984. “But going back to last June, there have been some very peculiar, very strange things happening.”

Since the dealer arbitrations began in April, rarely has a congressman — let alone a party leader — gotten involved in an individual case. Instead, the arbitrators have been left to make their decisions, and GM and Chrysler Group have been allowed to pursue settlements or reinstatements as they saw fit.

Boehner stepped in last week after a courtesy call from GM in an attempt to have the dealership informed of what seemed to be favorable news as soon as possible. Instead, the dealership’s fate remains unclear.

Bill Hahn will soon be back in the new-car business. The owner of the once and future Village Chrysler-Jeep in Royal Oak became the first of 14 former local Chrysler dealers to successfully reverse the automaker’s decision to close his dealership after an arbitrator ruled in Hahn’s favor late Tuesday, the Detroit Free Press reported.

“We’re grateful to the arbitrator and the overwhelming support we have received from our customers and community,” Hahn said. Operating as Village Automotive on Woodward, Hahn has gutted out the past year selling and servicing used vehicles to meet his payroll of 21 people, down from a 2007 peak of 54. “We’re looking for a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with Chrysler.”

The Auburn Hills automaker said in a statement it is disappointed by the decision, but “believes the arbitration process will continue to confirm the sound business decisions made during the bankruptcy.”

Chrysler now has seven days to give Hahn a letter of intent setting terms and conditions for his reinstatement.

Chrysler reduced its dealer network by 25 percent in June 2009 to about 2,400 as a condition of its government-backed restructuring. Fewer dealers, so the strategy went, would accelerate plans to bring all four brands — Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram — under the same roof. It also would boost the average sales per dealership, making surviving showrooms more profitable and enabling owners to upgrade their stores.

WASHINGTON – A top U.S. lawmaker and GM seem to be at odds over whether an Ohio dealer has been reinstated, reported Automotive News.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Friday had been told by “a high-ranking GM official” that Rose Chevrolet of Hamilton, Ohio, had prevailed in arbitration, a spokesman said. Today, Boehner wanted to know why General Motors Co. hadn’t yet informed the dealer.

GM declined to say if the dealership has been reinstated. GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney in an email today wondered who at GM might have spoken with Boehner.

For now, confusion prevails.

“There are some questions GM needs to answer,” Boehner’s spokesman, Cory Fritz, said in a phone interview today. “Why would they let us know without letting the dealer know? It doesn’t make sense to us.”

Boehner was contacted Friday, June 11, by a GM official, said Fritz, who declined to name the source.

Said GM’s Carney in an e-mail: “Not sure whom Congressman Boehner is referring to from GM.” Carney declined further comment.

Boehner’s statement on Friday read: “Today’s news is all that Rose Chevrolet asked for: a fair decision based on their record as one of the best dealerships in southwest Ohio.”

Boehner since learned from the dealership that it had received no such call from GM, Fritz said.

Still, Boehner isn’t backing off from his formal statement.

“The facts in our mind are no different from what we heard on Friday,” Fritz said.

Boehner, whose district includes Hamilton, near Cincinnati, had written a letter to GM a year ago requesting that Rose Chevrolet be reinstated.

The dealership had been told last June that it was being wound down and would be closed by October 2010.

Rose Chevrolet, owned by Ed Larkin, confirmed today that it has not yet heard either from GM or the arbitrator about the outcome.

“We’re all sitting on pins and needles,” said Rose Chevrolet sales manager Mark Frauenknecht.

Rose Chevrolet had its arbitration hearing in Cleveland from Tuesday June 8 to Thursday June 10, he said.

The dealership didn’t expect an arbitration decision until next week, Frauenknecht said.