The Jamestown Sun reported that a federal appeals court sided with a group of farm equipment makers that challenged a 2017 North Dakota law regulating the relationship between manufacturers and dealers Friday, Aug. 2.

The Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and several major tractor makers brought the legal challenge two years ago, arguing provisions of the law were unconstitutional and may create “the most restrictive dealership law in the entire country.” They said it would “impose unprecedented restrictions” on farm equipment manufacturers’ ability to enforce new and existing contracts with dealers and maintain their federally protected trademark rights, among other issues.

The North Dakota Implement Dealers Assn., which supported the 2017 bill, has called it the “farm equipment dealer bill of rights” and said it was developed in response to a “fundamental shift” in requirements placed on dealers by manufacturers.

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