Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. has filed foreclosure lawsuits in Luzerne County, Pa., over the shuttered Hazleton Nissan dealership and car wash owned by a dealership group that includes auto industry veteran Michael Saporito and ex-NFL linebackers Jessie Armstead and Antonio Pierce.
Nissan's credit arm is seeking to foreclose on the Hazleton Nissan store and Hazleton Car Wash & Detail Center in Hazle Township, Pa., after mortgage payments on both were last paid in July 2018, according to court records.
The two foreclosure lawsuits, filed in February against entities owned by the group, follow other lawsuits filed by Nissan Motor Acceptance last year. The lender sued the ownership group in August 2018 in Luzerne County and in Macomb County, Mich., over allegations that its dealerships sold hundreds of vehicles but failed to repay floorplan loans. Two dealerships in Michigan closed and were bought in December by Alan Jay Automotive Network and have reopened under new names.
In the Pennsylvania case, the owners agreed to turn over 99 vehicles in November and Nissan Group terminated the franchise agreement for Hazleton Nissan. It's unclear if the car wash is operating.
In the foreclosure lawsuits, Nissan Motor Acceptance says defendants entered into loans and construction mortgages on April 30, 2015, and owed more than $7.6 million for the dealership and nearly $4.8 million on the car wash as of Jan. 31.
The dealership group is asking a judge to dismiss the foreclosure actions, arguing they are the second complaint by Nissan Motor Acceptance for the same alleged default. That violates Pennsylvania law, the group argues. If a judge doesn't dismiss the case, the ownership group requests a stay until a resolution is reached in the other lawsuit.
A spokeswoman for Nissan Group declined to comment while the lawsuits are pending, but she confirmed that Nissan Group is looking to fill the point with another operator.
A lawyer for the dealership group could not be reached for comment, and a lawyer for Nissan Motor Acceptance declined to comment.
The Nissan foreclosure lawsuits follow similar action by Hyundai Capital America, which in September launched foreclosure proceedings against the same group of owners in Luzerne County for closed Hyundai and Kia dealerships in Hazle Township. Hyundai Capital, the captive finance arm for the Hyundai and Kia brands, in August also sued the dealership group over allegations of selling vehicles without repaying floorplan loans. Through a court order, vehicles that were financed by Hyundai Capital were removed from the Hyundai and Kia dealerships.
The dealership group has denied allegations in the Hyundai Capital and Nissan Motor Acceptance lawsuits filed in August.
The group also owns Hazleton Honda in Hazle Township, Pa.; Hamilton Honda in Hamilton Township, N.J.; and Englewood Cliffs Cadillac in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
