Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

From time to time, the Company’s dealerships are named in various types of litigation involving customer claims, employment matters, class action claims, purported class action claims, as well as claims involving the manufacturers of automobiles, contractual disputes and other matters arising in the ordinary course of business. The Company may be involved in legal proceedings or suffer losses that could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business. In the normal course of business, the Company is required to respond to customer, employee and other third-party complaints. In addition, the manufacturers of the vehicles that the Company sells and services have audit rights allowing them to review the validity of amounts claimed for incentive, rebate or warranty-related items and charge the Company back for amounts determined to be invalid payments under the manufacturers’ programs, subject to the Company’s right to appeal any such decision.

Legal Proceedings

As of March 31, 2020, the Company was not party to any legal proceedings that, individually or in the aggregate, are reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, including class action lawsuits. However, the results of current or future matters cannot be predicted with certainty and an unfavorable resolution of one or more of such matters could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

Other Matters

The Company has sold a number of dealerships to third parties and as a condition to certain of those dispositions, remains liable for the remaining lease payments of such dealerships in the event of non-payment by the purchaser. Although the Company has no reason to believe that it will be called upon to perform under any such assigned leases, the Company estimates that lessee remaining rental obligations were $38.5 million as of March 31, 2020. In certain instances, the Company obtains collateral support for the rental obligations that the Company remains obligated upon sale of a dealership to a lessee. Total associated letters of credit issued on behalf of the lessee where the Company is the beneficiary was $6.1 million as of March 31, 2020.