Steve Kahlon is a Pennsylvania car dealership operator facing a federal judgment of more than $38.2 million after GM Financial sued him and his companies in 2025 for selling hundreds of vehicles “out of trust” and keeping the proceeds. The Steve Kahlon lawsuit brought by GM Financial is the largest of several actions against him; a second lender, Ford Motor Credit, has filed its own case, and Kahlon has since filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy while an appeal sits in trouble at the Third Circuit.
What GM Financial Alleged
On April 15, 2025, AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc., which operates as GM Financial, filed a verified complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Whitmoyer Chevrolet, Inc., KinleyCo. Ventures, Inc., and Steven B. Kahlon personally. The complaint brought claims for replevin, breach of contract, temporary restraining orders, and confession of judgment.1CourtListener. AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Whitmoyer Chevrolet, Inc.
The core allegation was that the dealership had defaulted on more than $37 million in floorplan financing by selling vehicles “out of trust.” Floorplan lending works like this: a lender finances a dealership’s inventory, and the dealer is supposed to repay the lender out of the sale proceeds each time a financed car goes out the door. Selling out of trust means the car is sold but the money never goes back to the lender. GM Financial claimed Kinley Chevrolet, the dealership at 1001 East Main Street in Mount Joy, was hiding sales and pocketing the profits. Kahlon was named individually because he had personally guaranteed the financing.2GM Authority. GM Financial Claims Pennsylvania Dealership Owes It $37 Million
Before suing, GM Financial reportedly set up a repayment plan under which the dealership was to pay $1 million per week. The lender said Kinley fell behind on those payments.2GM Authority. GM Financial Claims Pennsylvania Dealership Owes It $37 Million Kinley Chevrolet declined to comment publicly but disputed the numbers, contending that GM Financial was charging incorrect sums in interest and fees and misreporting interest to the IRS. Kahlon’s attorney, Seth L. Dobbs of Fox Rothschild LLP, called the dispute a “misunderstanding.”3Fox Rothschild LLP. Dealership Lawyer Says $37 Million Dispute With GM Financial a Misunderstanding
How the $38.2 Million Judgment Came Down
The case moved fast. On April 16, 2025, U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg issued a temporary order authorizing GM Financial to repossess vehicle inventory and requiring the dealership to hand over keys and documentation. That order was extended on April 29, 2025.2GM Authority. GM Financial Claims Pennsylvania Dealership Owes It $37 Million On May 28, 2025, Judge John M. Gallagher ordered entry of judgment in favor of GM Financial and against all three defendants in the amount of $38,245,090.45, plus accruing interest, costs, and fees. A preliminary injunction followed in November 2025.1CourtListener. AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Whitmoyer Chevrolet, Inc.
Kahlon and his companies were not the only ones with a stake in the assets. Univest Bank and Trust Co., which held its own loan agreement and UCC-1 financing statement involving the defendants, was granted leave to intervene on May 28, 2025.1CourtListener. AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Whitmoyer Chevrolet, Inc.
The Ford Motor Credit Suit
GM Financial was not the only lender to sue. On June 2, 2025, Ford Motor Credit Company LLC filed a separate action in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against George D. Manderbach, Inc. and Steven B. Kahlon, with First Commonwealth Bank Financial Corporation and Univest Bank and Trust Co. named as additional defendants (Case No. 5:25-cv-02816). Ford Motor Credit brought a breach of contract claim and sought a writ of seizure and a temporary restraining order to recover collateral and collect deficiency indebtedness.4PACER Monitor. Ford Motor Credit Company LLC v. George D. Manderbach Inc. et al – Complaint A writ of seizure and temporary restraining order was granted on July 14, 2025.5PACER Monitor. Ford Motor Credit Company LLC v. George D. Manderbach Inc. et al
Bankruptcy and a Faltering Appeal
On December 19, 2025, a suggestion of bankruptcy was filed in the GM Financial case. Separate filings show Kahlon filed for Chapter 7 in the Middle District of Pennsylvania (Case No. 5:25-bk-03605).5PACER Monitor. Ford Motor Credit Company LLC v. George D. Manderbach Inc. et al The defendants filed a notice of appeal on January 5, 2026, taking the judgment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Case No. 26-1021).6Justia. AmeriCredit Financial Services Inc. v. Whitmoyer Chevrolet Inc. et al
The appeal has struggled to get off the ground. A briefing notice issued on February 2, 2026, set a March 16, 2026 deadline for the opening brief. Before that deadline, defense counsel Samuel W. Cortes filed a motion to withdraw as attorney for all three appellants on March 2, 2026. As of the last available docket entry, no appellants’ brief had been filed.6Justia. AmeriCredit Financial Services Inc. v. Whitmoyer Chevrolet Inc. et al
Back in the district court, Judge Gallagher on April 1, 2026, granted Fox Rothschild LLP’s motion to withdraw as counsel for Kahlon, Whitmoyer Chevrolet, and KinleyCo. Ventures, and denied a request to stay the proceedings, ordering the case to move forward in the normal course.7PACER Monitor. AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Whitmoyer Chevrolet, Inc. et al The Ford Motor Credit case took a different turn after the bankruptcy filing. Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl stayed all proceedings in that action for ninety days, and by March 2026 defense counsel had filed a motion to withdraw there as well.5PACER Monitor. Ford Motor Credit Company LLC v. George D. Manderbach Inc. et al
The Dealerships and Their Employees
The corporate structure behind the litigation runs through several entities. Court records identify Kahlon as the owner of George D. Manderbach, Inc. and GDM Leasing, Inc., both connected to Kinley Ford, LLC, which was linked to KinleyCo. Ventures, Inc.8Midpage. Chandra v. GDM Leasing, Inc. KinleyCo. Ventures was the holding company for Whitmoyer Chevrolet, which operated under the name Kinley Chevrolet after Kahlon’s acquisition.1CourtListener. AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Whitmoyer Chevrolet, Inc.
The consequences on the ground have been immediate. As of October 2025, Kinley Ford in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, laid off nearly four dozen employees and posted signs saying the store was closed. Ownership said at the time that the company was “restructuring the organization and selling a couple brands” and planned to reopen the Hamburg location by the end of October 2025.9WFMZ. Kinley Ford Lays Off Dozens of Employees The Kinley Automotive Group location in Mount Joy, the Kinley Chevrolet dealership at the center of the GM Financial suit, is listed as permanently closed.10MapQuest. Kinley Automotive Group
Where Things Stand
As of early 2026, Kahlon is facing the $38.2 million GM Financial judgment without legal representation after his attorneys withdrew, and the district court has refused to stay the case.7PACER Monitor. AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc. v. Whitmoyer Chevrolet, Inc. et al The Third Circuit appeal is pending but in jeopardy given the counsel withdrawal and the missing brief.6Justia. AmeriCredit Financial Services Inc. v. Whitmoyer Chevrolet Inc. et al The Ford Motor Credit case is stayed because of the bankruptcy.5PACER Monitor. Ford Motor Credit Company LLC v. George D. Manderbach Inc. et al No criminal charges tied to the dealership defaults have been reported in the available records.