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Is Franchising Doomed?
Strategies for Negotiating with a Franchisee and Franchisor
Before committing to a franchise business, consider...
An appellate court in California has affirmed a trial court’s rejection of more than $4 million in lost business profits, which appellant Glen Suh alleged in a breach of contract action against franchisor Boba Time, Inc. Suh...more
A Texas court of appeals affirmed judgment in favor of a plaintiff who claimed a franchisor was vicariously liable for a franchisee’s employee’s wrongful conduct....more
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of a motion to stay pending arbitration because the claims of the franchisor, Breadeaux’s Pisa, did not fall within the mandatory stay provision of the Federal...more
In Louis Degidio, Inc. v. Industrial Combustion, LLC, Louis Degidio, Inc. (Degidio) and Louis Degidio Services, Inc. (Degidio Services) sued Industrial Combustion, LLC (IC), a manufacturer of “institutional boiler system”...more
A state appellate court in New York recently held a franchisor was not entitled to unpaid royalty fees because of its own breach of a franchise agreement reinstated by preliminary injunction. Integrity Real Estate Consultants...more
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s summary judgement order, granting a chocolate shop franchisor’s breach of contract and unfair competition claims. The appellate court concluded there were...more
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion concerning a dispute over a franchisor’s effort to mandate changes to a franchisee’s operations. The Court granted the franchisor a mixed result. The decision...more
A Texas appeals court affirmed a lower court judgment in favor of Pizza Hut and its franchisee for claims of an alleged sexual assault by a delivery driver. The appellate court held Pizza Hut was not liable for the...more
Ninth Circuit Reverses Class Action Settlement Approval and Fee Award - The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed the approval of a $10 million voucher settlement and a $2.6 million attorneys’ fee award in a class...more
A San Francisco franchisee of the It’s Just Lunch matchmaking system received an offer to buy the franchised business for about $146,000 with the final price to be determined. Under the offer, the actual purchase price would...more
Welcome to The Franchise Memorandum by Lathrop GPM. Below are summaries of recent legal developments of interest to franchisors. Fifth Circuit Reverses Trial Court’s Excusal of Area Representative’s Tardy Renewal Notice -...more
A U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a federal district court decision partly granting a preliminary injunction sought by a companionship and domestic care services franchisor against a former franchisee, for violating the...more
A federal appeals court reversed dismissal of a claim against a barbeque restaurant franchisor. The court found that, despite having signed releases in favor of the franchisor, a former franchisee had valid claims for...more
Many will recall the 2018 national outbreak of E. coli bacteria linked to romaine lettuce. In April that year, an Ohio franchisor ordered its restaurants to stop serving romaine lettuce and dispose of any remaining romaine...more
The Ninth Circuit ruled that a California Matco Tool franchisee, John Fleming, could bring a class action wage and hour suit in California, even though a forum selection clause in the distribution agreement specified Ohio...more
A California Court of Appeal held that courts should not enforce forum selection clauses in contracts that also contain a jury waiver. For franchisors that have California franchisees, this ruling could complicate the ability...more
A federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s refusal to order arbitration against a franchisee who bought an existing franchise. This was despite a provision in the franchise agreement to arbitrate “most disputes.”...more
Ten years after the franchisor of the EXIT real estate system entered into a franchise agreement for a franchisee to operate an EXIT franchise in Maitland, Florida, the parties entered into another franchise agreement for a...more
Eskimo Hut, a franchisor of convenience stores that sell frozen daiquiris-to-go, convinced a Texas appellate court that it would probably win on claims that South Plains, a franchisee using a nonconforming drink mix, breached...more
A federal district court upheld an arbitration panel’s decision to deny attorneys’ fees to Benihana, even though Benihana won a dispute with its licensee. The licensee started arbitration claiming Benihana breached the...more
A federal Appeals Court has held that an offer to extend a franchisee’s buyback period lacked consideration required to form an enforceable contract and, instead, was an unenforceable gratuitous promise by the franchisor....more
On June 21 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed prior case law and let states tax online retailers that do not have physical presence in the state. The ruling also has significant implications for franchise systems that sell...more
Yesterday, in South Dakota vs. WayFair, Inc., et al., the United States Supreme Court (“Court”) overturned long-standing precedents that required an out-of-state Seller to have a physical presence in a state to collect...more
In a recent decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a franchisee’s claim that the franchisor’s termination decision violated the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act (NJFPA)...more
A VIEW FROM TWIN PEAKS - Quick. Define Twin Peaks. Other than the obviously now dated TV show, up until a couple of weeks ago, the only other definition of Twin Peaks was a restaurant chain that featured double entendre...more