Jan Richardson's legal battle to keep Ford Motor Co. from terminating her as operator of the downtown Jaguar-Land Rover-Volvo Spokane dealership has ended.

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Tari S. Eitzen last month approved a stipulated dismissal of Richardson's lawsuit against Ford, and Eitzen this week was scheduled to hear Ford's request for payment of about $19,000 in costs and damages.

Richardson filed suit against Ford in October seeking a declaratory judgement upholding what she claimed was her right to have the matter resolved through arbitration, and asking for monetary damages for alleged breach of contract.

However, the Ford-dominated board of Spokane Motor Cars Inc., through which Richardson operated the dealership, at 1310 W. Third, already had severed its management agreement with her, and Ford convinced the court to vacate a temporary restraining order preventing it from removing her as operator.

Ford argued in court documents that it had the right, under its agreement with Richardson, to terminate a dealer if the dealership incurs losses rendering the dealer's common stock valueless. "It is clear that Ms. Richardson's common stock has no value," Ford said.