DETROIT — An appeals process that spared hundreds of U.S. auto dealers from closure will soon be over, but Chrysler could still face months of litigation with dealers in state courts.

Federally appointed arbitrators are down to just 35 cases out of nearly 1,600 General Motors and Chrysler dealers who appealed their closures, according to India Johnson, senior vice president of the American Arbitration Association, the dispute resolution service that handled the cases.

Hearings are set to wrap up today, with the final decisions due by the end of next week. But already, Chrysler is facing legal action from some dealers who have rejected the automaker's terms.

Congress required the arbitration hearings after GM and Chrysler announced plans to shutter 2,800 dealers last year as part of the automakers' plan to rebound from U.S. government-led bankruptcies. The companies said their U.S. sales didn't justify having so many dealers — nearly 10,000 between them. By comparison, Toyota has only about 1,200, even though it's the second-largest automaker by U.S. sales.

But dealers protested that many stores had been in their families for generations, and that the market should determine whether dealerships are viable.

Since the hearings began in February, a majority of the cases have been resolved with settlements outside of arbitration, either because the automakers agreed to reinstate the dealers or the dealers dropped out of the process. Some dealers closed, while others started selling other brands.