A recent Bankruptcy Appellate Panel decision is a reminder of both a benefit of bankruptcy, in appropriate circumstances, and the need to respect the bankruptcy discharge a party obtains in the process.
Mr. Lee was...more
Rob & Bud's Pizza ("R&B") is a Papa Murphy's franchisee and owns and operates multiple Papa Murphy's Take 'n' Bake Pizza restaurants in Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. In April 2014, R&B and other Papa Murphy's franchisees...more
An arbitration panel in Florida found that a disaster recovery and remediation business franchisee breached his agreement with John Woods, his franchisor, by terminating the agreement 13 years before expiration of the 20-year...more
A long-standing distributor and licensee of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in Hawaii was entitled to proceed on its claim that the business relationship with Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc. was a "franchise" under Hawaii's...more
A federal court in Florida has ruled that a disclaimer of representations contained in the franchise agreement between a childcare business franchisor and its franchisees barred claims against the franchisor for alleged...more
Too often, expansion-minded business owners choose to offer trademarked products or services through purported licensing agreements or distribution or dealership arrangements only to discover, well into the game, that what...more
Super 8 Worldwide, Inc. v. Anu, Inc. serves as a reminder to franchisees that, in general, courts will hold franchisees and their guarantors liable to their franchisors for losses suffered when franchisees abandon their...more
Despite a district court's recent decision in Braatz, LLC v. Red Mango FC, LLC, franchisors are well advised to comply with applicable disclosure requirements to a "T" to ensure new franchisees will not have an ongoing right...more
A federal court has ordered 7-Eleven to disclose its metadata in three franchisees' claims that they were targeted for termination for financial, political and racially discriminatory reasons. Metadata is deep down "data...more
The National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") recently published a memo finding that Canadian fast-casual restaurant franchisor Freshii is not a joint employer of its franchisee's employees. The ruling concerns unfair labor...more
A federal court in New Jersey upheld a franchise agreement's forum selection clause in favor of hotel franchisor Ramada Worldwide Inc. and denied a Minnesota hotel franchisee's motion to dismiss the complaint, or...more
A U.S Court of Appeals ruled in favor of MillerCoors finding the brewer did not violate its distribution agreement with a beer distributor or Pennsylvania's alcohol beverage laws when it (i) assigned distribution rights for...more
Beer distribution laws differ from traditional franchise laws in many ways, but the two regimes do share some commonalities. As a matter of fact, many states now regulate the relationship between those who brew or import beer...more
In Fantastic Sam's Salons, Corp. v. Moassesfar, a federal court in Los Angeles denied a motion by former franchisees to dismiss Fantastic Sam's claims for breach of contract and trademark infringement based on the contractual...more
A federal court in Sacramento recently upheld a franchisor's forum selection clause and transferred an action brought by an area representative to the federal district court in the Western District of Texas....more
For decades, non-franchise businesses have tried using a quasi-franchise business model (i.e., any business format license) to distinguish themselves from franchisors to avoid onerous franchise investment laws. A recent...more
2/27/2015
A new California law has given the California Department of Business Oversight, the State's regulator of franchises, more time to review franchise registration and renewal applications, with the result that franchisors, their...more
On November 25, 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released final rules governing menu and vending machine labeling to implement some of the Affordable Care Act's nutrition labeling requirements.
The final...more
Almost everyone recognizes the nation's most prominent franchises: McDonald's, Domino's, Hilton or 7-Eleven, to name a few. And business people are becoming aware that arrangements that look like franchises, but are...more
In Ruiz v. Affinity Logistics Corporation, another recent delivery driver case that arose in California, Affinity Logistics' drivers claimed they were employees and had been misclassified as independent contractors. The trial...more
In Kroshnyi v. U.S. Pack Courier Services, Inc., a case pending for 13 years (and not over yet), numerous drivers claimed their package delivery franchisor violated New York's franchise law. From 1996 to 1998 the drivers...more
A West Virginia Court refused to dismiss an action brought under its state workers' compensation law. That law permits an employee to recover greater damages when deliberate intent exists.
An employee of a Hardee's...more
There has been a lot of news lately about risks of franchisors being liable for acts and incidents at franchised locations. The National Labor Relations Board's general counsel recently announced he intends to claim...more
Beer distribution laws differ from traditional franchise laws in many ways, but they do share some commonalities. As a matter of fact, many states now regulate the relationship between those who brew or import beer into a...more
In 2010, Steak 'n Shake, a franchisor of hamburger restaurants, adopted new pricing and promotion policies that required all franchisees to follow company mandated pricing on every menu item and to participate in all...more