Cutrubus Motors regains right to sell Chrysler

LAYTON — When Homer Cutrubus first heard the news from attorneys, it took him a few minutes to process it.

Cutrubus' sister-in-law, Christine Sorensen, had a different reaction. Sorensen couldn't wait to get on the intercom and announce to employees that after a year of being a used-car dealership, Cutrubus Motors was once again part of the Chrysler family.

"There was hugs and cheering, and music started playing," said Sorensen, who manages the Layton dealerships.

The family-owned business, which was started in the early 1960s through the hard work of brothers Homer and Phidia Cutrubus, became a Chrysler dealer in 1969. For the past 40 years, Cutrubus Motors had been building and expanding until it had three franchises with Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge sales.

When Chrysler Corp. went bankrupt in 2009, the Auburn Hills, Mich., carmaker announced that 789 car dealerships — including Cutrubus Motors in Layton — would be stripped of their rights to sell Chrysler vehicles.

A bill passed by Congress allowed dealers to dispute the decision, and after seven days of arbitration, the Layton dealership Tuesday became the first in Utah and second nationwide to win arbitration.

"Our phones rang off the hook (Tuesday) as customers, employees and business associates called to say, 'That's so fantastic you guys prevailed,' " said Homer Cutrubus' son, Kord Cutrubus, who manages the Kia store, Rocky Mountain Rides, in Riverdale.

Attorneys heard the news Tuesday and immediately called members of the Cutrubus family to congratulate them on being able to continue their 40-year legacy.

Andrew Deiss, attorney with Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough, which represented Cutrubus in the arbitration, said the initial termination of Cutrubus Motors as a Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealership was a threat to the legacy of the Layton dealerships and would have caused a "significant loss" to the community.

"The loss of Cutrubus would've been a challenge to Layton, to its tax base and to the vendors for Cutrubus Motors," Deiss told the Deseret News. "The absence would have been greatly felt."

Jewel Lee Kenley, owner and dealer principal at Kenley Ford, said the loss affected how much traffic went through Layton, which creates problems for all businesses — not just Cutrubus Motors.

"It impacted us greatly," Kenley said. "The city's tax base was affected greatly. First of all, because of the recession, the city already took a hit, and then losing three franchises. With three less franchises, people are less likely to get off the freeway."

However, Chrysler Corp. disagrees with the decision.