2013 Maryland Code
COMMERCIAL LAW
§ 19-101 - Definitions

§19-101.

(a) In this title, unless the context requires otherwise, the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) “Contract” means a written or oral contract or agreement between a dealer and a wholesaler, manufacturer, or distributor by which:

(1) The dealer is granted the right to sell or distribute goods or services; or

(2) The dealer is granted the right to use a trade name, trademark, service mark, logo type, or advertising or other commercial symbol.

(c) “Current model” means a model listed in a wholesaler’s, manufacturer’s, or distributor’s current sales manual or a supplement to the current sales manual.

(d) “Current net price” means the price listed in the supplier’s price list or catalog in effect at the time the contract agreement is terminated, less any applicable discount allowed.

(e) (1) “Dealer” means a person engaged in the business of selling at retail construction, farm, utility, or industrial equipment, implements, machinery, attachments, outdoor power equipment, outdoor power sports equipment, or repair parts.

(2) “Dealer” includes a person engaged in the business of selling, on commission or at retail, commercial heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment or repair parts.

(f) “Family member” means a spouse, sibling, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild, or a lineal descendant of the dealer or principal owner of the dealership.

(g) “Good cause” means failure by a dealer to comply with requirements imposed on the dealer by a contract if the requirements are not different from requirements imposed on other dealers similarly situated in the State.

(h) (1) “Inventory” means farm implements or machinery, construction, utility, and industrial equipment, consumer products, outdoor power equipment, outdoor power sports equipment, attachments, or repair parts.

(2) “Inventory” includes commercial heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment or repair parts.

(i) “Net cost” means the price the dealer paid the supplier for the inventory, less all applicable discounts allowed, plus the amount the dealer paid for freight costs from the supplier’s location to the dealer’s location, plus the reasonable cost of assembly or disassembly performed by the dealer.

(j) “Outdoor power sports equipment” means the following vehicles and any attachments or repair parts for the following vehicles:

(1) A motor-assisted or motor-driven vehicle that:

(i) Is designed to carry only the operator of the vehicle on a seat or saddle designed to be straddled by the operator or is designed to carry only the operator of the vehicle and one passenger; and

(ii) Is commonly known as an all-terrain vehicle;

(2) A motorcycle that:

(i) Is designed for off-highway operation and is not eligible for registration as a Class D (motorcycle) vehicle under the Transportation Article; and

(ii) Is commonly known as a dirt bike; or

(3) A snowmobile.

(k) “Superseded part” means a part that will provide the same function as a currently available part as of the date of cancellation of a contract.

(l) “Supplier” means:

(1) A wholesaler, manufacturer, or distributor who enters into a contract with a dealer; or

(2) A purchaser of assets or stock of a surviving corporation resulting from a merger or liquidation, a receiver or assignee, or a trustee of the original manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor who enters into a contract with a dealer.

(m) “Termination” means the termination, cancellation, nonrenewal, or noncontinuation of a contract.

(n) “Utility” and “industrial”, when used to refer to equipment, implements, machinery, attachments, or repair parts, have the meanings commonly used and understood among dealers and suppliers of farm equipment as a usage of trade.