Trophy Automotive Dealer Group LLC ("TADG"), a leading automotive dealer group operating in California, announces that it has reached a final and global settlement of all disputes between TADG and Byron Z. Moldo, the court appointed receiver for the Sage Group of auto dealerships (the "Receiver").

LOS ANGELES, June 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In June and October 2019, various TADG subsidiaries filed complaints against the Receiver and various Sage entities for specific performance and breach of contract arising from transactions between the parties in 2017 giving rise to various subsequent legal disputes. In December 2019, the Receiver filed his own action against TADG, alleging various claims including concealment and breach of fiduciary duty the merits of which TADG wholly denied. In February, 2020, TADG and the Receiver settled those pending legal disputes. Specifically, the 2020 settlement resolved the complaints filed by TADG against the Receiver as well as the action filed by the Receiver against TADG, certain of its subsidiaries, Nasser Watar, and certain former Sage employees. The Settlement included the complete dismissal of the action against Mr. Nasser Watar, TADG, its named subsidiaries, and the named former Sage employees. The settlement did not include any admission of liability on the part of Mr. Watar, TADG, its subsidiaries, or any of the named former Sage employees. 

In 2022, TADG initiated arbitration proceedings against the Receiver in which TADG contended that the Receiver had failed to fully and timely fulfill the terms of the prior Settlement Agreement, based on which TADG had exercised its option to purchase the real property at which its West Covina Nissan and Kia Downtown Los Angeles dealerships operated. After further litigation between the parties, TADG and the Receiver reached a further global settlement that resolve all pending and potential disputes between them. The settlement specifically included the acquisition by TADG of the Kia Downtown Los Angeles dealership property.

Nasser Watar, comments that TADG is "pleased that several years of litigation between us and the Receiver have been concluded in TADG's favor and is finally over" and added that he is "particularly excited for the future of our Kia Downtown Los Angeles dealership now that we own the property."

Trophy Automotive Dealer Group is one of the largest non-public dealer groups in the State of California and also one of the largest Mercedes & Kia Dealer Groups in number of new cars sold in the US market.

SOURCE Trophy Automotive Dealer Group LLC