Kia Sportage from the time when the franchise was transferred from Levy to Unger/Kobe Liani
An end to the legal battle between two of the largest car importers in Israel.
The Supreme Court rejected the appeal filed by Michael Levy (Fiat, Subaru, Jeep and Alfa Romeo) against the decision of the District Court in Tel Aviv, according to which there was no flaw in the decision of the Korean car manufacturer Kia to transfer the franchise to sell its vehicles in Israel from Levy to Onger (which also imports Ssangyong and Ceres vehicles).
Levy held the franchise through Korea Motors Israel (KMI) in the years 1994-2007 when Korean cars broke into the Israeli market, when Kia sales stood in the shadow of Hyundai sales. At the end of 2007, Kia did not renew the KMI franchise and transferred it to Onger, who imported So the Daihatsu models.
Levy and his son Achid sued Unger for NIS 192 million, claiming that Kia took the franchise from Levy and transferred it to Unger due to "soliciting, bribery, conspiracy and a corrupt relationship between Unger and the Kia manufacturer."
Rami Unger/Walla system!
NEWS, Moti Kimchi, Haaretz
Michael Levy/Eitan Mateo Kegia
The lawsuit began unfolding in 2008, evolving into Unger's lawsuit against Levy claiming that he initiated a hack into Unger's computers in an attempt to look for materials that would prove his claims.
In 2019, Judge Tsila determined that the transfer of the franchise was a legitimate business move by Kia, which also considered other options besides transferring it to Onger.
On the other hand, the judge accepted Unger's claim regarding the hacking of his computers, and ordered Levy to compensate him with NIS 3 million plus another NIS 1.5 million in court costs.
Levy and his son Achid appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Judges Yitzhak Amit, Gila Knafi-Steinitz and Khaled Kabov ruled yesterday that they see no reason to interfere with the district court's decision and therefore reject the appeal.
The appellants were ordered to pay expenses in the amount of NIS 80,000.
Ungar was represented by lawyers Dori Klagsblad, Shraga Amir and Daniel Kopilov.
The companies controlled by the Levy family were represented by lawyers Giora Erdinst and Eyal Rosovsky.
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