I have no inside information, but it’s not hard to figure out what likely happened with warranty coverage and dealer responsibilities.
The old model that MTH had was one where both MTH and a network of specific dealers had the ability to repair products. MTH also floated the inventory, maintained a parts inventory, and directly backed the warranty. Dealers likely paid much more per item as a percentage of the MSRP since either MTH handled repairs, or reimbursed the ASC for the pleasure.
In the new model, the onus is now on the dealer to either repair, or refund the purchase for the customer. If parts aren’t available for the repair, MTH reimburses the dealer as well (but probably only the item’s dealer cost). The dealer cost of the products are likely much less (as a percentage of MSRP) now.
This is what makes the dealer’s refusal to handle it themselves more concerning. They likely will not get favorable pricing in the future, or the ability to do custom runs, etc.