3 Key Takeaways | Is Franchising Doomed? The 2024 Version
5 Key Takeaways | Franchising in the USA: Challenges for Latin American Brands
Class Action | Eleventh Circuit Reinstates No Hire Antitrust Claims Against Burger King
Is Franchising Doomed?
Strategies for Negotiating with a Franchisee and Franchisor
Before committing to a franchise business, consider...
A New Jersey Court of Appeals found that a retailer was not a franchisee under New Jersey’s Franchise Practices Act (NJFPA) and therefore NJFPA’s termination requirements did not apply to the retailer’s termination....more
A New Jersey appellate court affirmed a state trial court’s ruling that a terminated retailer of custom outdoor kitchens was not in a franchise relationship with a manufacturer of outdoor grills and that the New Jersey...more
The Superior Court of Connecticut addressed a contractual dispute between a manufacturer of snow removal equipment and its distributor. HP Fairfield, a distributor of snow removal equipment, argued that a manufacturer, CIVES...more
Last week, McDonald’s found itself in the national spotlight. However, instead of highlighting a holiday McFlurry, the hamburger giant was linked to an E. coli outbreak that spread across 13 states and caused approximately 75...more
The recent case of Rhine Enters v. Refresco Beverage out of the federal district court of the Southern District of Illinois should be a reminder to licensors and manufacturers that avoiding the “fee prong” element of a...more
Welcome to The Franchise Memorandum by Lathrop GPM, formerly known as The GPMemorandum. Periodically, The Franchise Memorandum focuses on topics primarily of interest to companies that use distributors and dealers rather than...more
A Wisconsin pizza maker, Heggie’s Pizza (Heggie’s) argued that its relationship with a purported pizza distributor A & B Distribution (A&B), did not meet the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law (WFDL) definition of a “dealership.”...more
The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that a beer manufacturer’s “match and redirect” provision in an agreement with a wholesaler violated the state’s Beer Industry Fair Dealing Act (BIFDA). Anheuser-Busch’s contract said if...more
As anyone who follows closely (or even casually) the Craft Freedom initiative likely knows by now, two of the state’s largest breweries (NoDa Brewing Company and The Old Mecklenburg Brewery) appear to have compromised and...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
States have been vested with the responsibility to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages since the repeal of Prohibition. In carrying out this authority, many states have implemented a three...more
FRANCHISOR 101: When is Unreasonable, Reasonable? Crown Imports, LLC (Crown) imports Corona beer from Mexico. In 2008, two of Crown's Southern California distributors, Classic and HBC, agreed that Classic would buy...more
FRANCHISOR 101: Franchisor Successfully Fends Off Fraud Claims - There are circumstances when a fraud claim will not succeed against a franchisor. In Dunkin' Donuts Franchised Restaurants, LLC v. Claudia I, LLC, a...more
FRANCHISOR 101: CALIFORNIA REQUIREMENTS ON NEGOTIATED TERMS MAY CHANGE - The California Franchise Investment Law and the California Code of Regulations currently require franchisors registered in California to disclose...more
In This Issue: - Franchisor 101: Are Covenants Not-To-Compete Dischargeable In Bankruptcy? - Franchisee 101: Aloha-Distributorships Are Not Franchises - Mark Melton Has Become Of Counsel To The Firm...more