January started 2025 off on a positive note for automotive dealers. President Trump, whose administration is expected to be more industry-friendly than its predecessor’s, was sworn in for his second term on the 20th, which was followed by the Fifth Circuit vacating the FTC’s Vehicle Shopping Rule on the 27th.
However, industry experts have warned that dealers should not become complacent in their compliance because of less stringent regulation. No matter what, the FTC still has a job to do, and more progressive State Attorneys General can use January’s events as a rallying point to enact tougher enforcement within their states. These points and more were brought up during a recent webinar co-hosted by Reynolds Document Services and KPA.
Adam Crowell, VP of Legal and Compliance for KPA, opened the webinar making it clear that the FTC is still acting against dealers. Price and fee transparency and discriminatory finance markups are the two top issues, he said.
Terry O’Loughlin, Director of Compliance for LAW and Reynolds Document Services, primarily focused on dissecting recent federal and state-level enforcement actions and what they can mean for regulatory enforcement moving forward.
Crowell and O’Loughlin also discussed the case against James Douvas by the FTC and Illinois AG. Douvas’ former employer, Leader Auto Group, settled with the FTC last year, but now he as an individual is being sued for $216 million. One discussion highlight centered on the concept that the FTC could consider being in a position where someone should have known about something, and in a position to possibly stop it, could open them up to liability.
“This is the type of case should scare everybody,” Crowell said.