On April 7, 2022, the House of Representatives passed bill H.R. 3807, the Relief for Restaurant Franchisees and other Hard Hit Small Businesses Act of 2022, which, if passed by the U. S. Senate, will add $42 billion to the...more
On January 31, 2022, the California State Assembly passed AB 257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act, or the “Act”) by a vote of 41-19. The bill was originally introduced in January...more
According to the Los Angeles Times, fast-food workers at McDonald’s restaurants in Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego and San Jose intend to walk off their jobs on November 9 in support of the passage of California...more
Millions of people in COVID-19 lockdown ordered food online from food delivery platforms using mobile applications in 2020, which resulted in alleged abuses by certain food delivery platforms. In response, the California...more
During the first 21 days of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) approved by Congress in April 2021 and administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), priority was given to eligible small businesses with limited...more
A federal district court denied KFC’s defensive summary judgment motion, enabling its franchisee to go to trial on claims against KFC for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by opening a competing...more
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) was adopted by Congress in April 2021 to provide financial relief for eligible restaurants and related food and beverage service businesses. $28.6 billion of tax-free federal grants...more
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) was adopted by Congress in April 2021 to provide financial relief for eligible restaurants and related food and beverage service businesses. Over $28 billion in tax-free federal grants...more
California Assembly Bill 257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act or AB 257) was defeated by the California Assembly on June 3, 2021. The bill was introduced by Assembly Member Lorena...more
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) was adopted by Congress in April 2021 to provide financial relief for eligible restaurants and related food and beverage service businesses. Originally, $28.6 billion of tax-free...more
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) will provide financial relief for eligible restaurants and related food and beverage service businesses with $28.6 billion of tax-free federal grants if their revenue in 2020 was less...more
The Small Business Administration (SBA) released key details on application requirements (RRF Application), eligibility and a program guide (RRF Program Guide) for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) on April 19, 2021....more
Restaurants have been severely impacted by COVID-19 because of permanent and temporary shutdowns that eliminated or reduced revenue, and the increased costs that many operators incurred to bolster take-out and delivery sales...more
The COVID-19 pandemic forced food service franchisors and franchisees to adapt their business models and operations procedures and work together to survive during these unprecedented times. People generally resist change...more
A federal court in Tennessee held a Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken former franchisee in contempt for failure to deidentify its restaurant after entry of a temporary restraining order and consent to a permanent...more
11/2/2020
/ Contempt ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchise Termination ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Proprietary Information ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Sanctions ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademarks ,
TRO
As Los Angeles reopens in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles have issued substantially similar Revised Orders that restaurants must comply with to provide dine-in service....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
5/5/2020
/ Actual Malice ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Business Partners ,
Buyouts ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Dismissals ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Fraud ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Reversal ,
Tortious Interference ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Waivers
The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment for franchisor Buffalo Wild Wings (“BWW”) rejecting a restaurant operator’s counterclaims for wrongful termination, malicious prosecution, and breach of...more
5/1/2019
/ Abeyance ,
Breach of Contract ,
Counterclaims ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisors ,
License Agreements ,
Licensees ,
Malicious Prosecution ,
Notice of Default ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trademark Licenses ,
Wrongful Termination
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
3/29/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Termination ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Good Cause ,
License Agreements ,
Licensees ,
Prevailing Party ,
Reaffirmation ,
Restaurant Industry
Jimmy John’s will face antitrust claims, after an Illinois federal judge declined to dismiss allegations in a class action.
Plaintiffs claim the chain’s franchise agreement harmed competition by preventing franchisee...more
9/28/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Class Action ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
No-Hire/No-Solicitation Agreements ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
State Attorneys General
Though an individual owner and operator of a formerly franchised Church's Chicken restaurant in Texas was not a signer of the franchise agreement, a district court ruled the individual was subject to the agreement's...more
3/1/2018
/ Assignments ,
Breach of Contract ,
Cease and Desist ,
Confusingly Similar ,
Equitable Estoppel ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Signatories ,
Post-Termination Acts ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Third-Party Relationships ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks
A registered trademark is a valuable corporate asset and can be a significant part of a company's worth. A franchisor has an affirmative legal duty to police use of its mark by licensed franchisees and also third-party...more
2/2/2018
/ Cease and Desist ,
Duty to Monitor ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Injunctions ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks
A restaurant franchisor, World of Beer Franchising ("WOB"), recently lost an appeal to enforce a post-termination restriction against a franchisee launching a competing business. Both the trial and appellate court ruled...more
12/1/2017
/ Appeals ,
Dispute Resolution Clauses ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Mediation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Remedies ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Restrictive Covenants
Franchisors in the food service industry have until January 18, 2018 to comment on the latest version of the Food & Drug Administration’s Menu Labeling Guidance. The FDA released the draft November 7th. This version includes...more
Analysts predict robots may take nearly 40 percent of U.S. jobs – particularly the ones that require lower education levels – in the next 15-20 years. The study was released by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and was based on...more