A two-year legal battle that Hyundai Construction Equipment USA Inc. lodged against an independent Michigan dealer has resulted in a legal precedent that could deter machinery importers from bypassing original-equipment manufacturers and their networks of authorized dealers to make an extra profit from selling “gray-market” goods.
In a memorandum dated Oct. 21 and signed early this year, U.S. District Court Judge Harry D. Leinenweber orders Macomb Township, Mich.-based Chris Johnson to relinquish about $1 million in profits from the sale of about two-dozen imported machines. The court also enjoins the dealer from importing and selling future gray Hyundai machinery and to pay the original-equipment manufacturer’s roughly $6,700 in court fees.