Court Sides With Rick Case Maserati In Dispute With Competitor

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - A state appeals court has rejected a challenge to a new Maserati dealership in Broward County, ruling that another Maserati dealer didn't have the legal standing to fight it.

The ruling by the 4th District Court of Appeal sided with Rick Case Maserati in the dispute with competitor Maserati of Fort Lauderdale. The case stemmed from a state law that deals with the licensing and establishment of auto dealerships. Under the law, existing dealerships can file protests against proposed dealerships under certain criteria.

In 2014, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles published a notice of the proposed establishment of Rick Case Maserati about 17 miles from Maserati of Fort Lauderdale, according to this week's ruling.

Maserati of Fort Lauderdale filed a protest under one of the criteria, which dealt with the amount of sales it made within a 12.5-mile radius of the proposed location of the new dealership. But an administrative law judge ruled that Maserati of Fort Lauderdale did not satisfy the criteria and, as a result, did not have legal standing to pursue the challenge.

The appeals court upheld that ruling.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.