12 thousand franchised dealers are being represented in an existing nationwide class action lawsuit against CDK Global. Joining us now to tell us more about the lawsuit is the lawyer who spearheaded it, Len Bellavia, Founding Partner of the law firm of Bellavia Blatt also known as DealerLaw.com.
Takeaways
- Len Bellavia explained that his law firm initiated an antitrust lawsuit against CDK Global and Reynolds & Reynolds about seven years ago. The lawsuit was driven by dealer complaints regarding inflated costs and restricted access to their own data. The claim suggests that CDK and Reynolds colluded to eliminate competition, causing financial harm to dealers.
- Bellavia highlighted that CDK’s defense in the antitrust case was the necessity of high fees for building a robust cybersecurity platform. However, the recent cyber-attack raises questions about the effectiveness and allocation of those funds. Dealers have expressed frustration over high costs without apparent corresponding security benefits.
- In the aftermath of the cyber-attack, Belavia advised dealers to avoid rushing into legal actions against CDK. He emphasized the importance of focusing on immediate operational challenges, such as managing payroll and sales tax remittances. Belavia also noted that while dealers have sustained damages, it is premature to determine liability and seek legal redress without concrete evidence.
Check out our full coverage of the CDK cyberattack here.
"No lawyer or law firm out there should be advocating any type of legal action at this stage against CDK simply because it's a rush to judgment. We don't know if CDK did anything wrong here." - Len Bellavia
