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Is Franchising Doomed?
Strategies for Negotiating with a Franchisee and Franchisor
Before committing to a franchise business, consider...
A Texas federal court granted American Dairy Queen Corporation’s motion for partial summary judgment against a terminated franchisee, finding no dispute to the material facts establishing the franchisee’s material breach of...more
A federal court recently granted in part and denied in part a franchisor’s motion to enjoin the post-termination activities of its former franchisees and two related entities. Rooterman, LLC is a plumbing services franchisor....more
A federal court in Massachusetts recently granted, in part, a Motion for Preliminary Injunction as to enforcement of franchise agreement noncompete covenants but denied the motion as to claims of trademark infringement,...more
A federal district court in Tennessee granted a motion for a default judgment in the franchisor’s favor against its former franchisee requiring the franchisee to pay damages and comply with the post-termination obligations...more
In a franchisor’s suit against its franchisee and that franchisee’s new business, a federal court in Kansas recently denied the new business’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. HappyFeet-Legends Int’l, Inc....more
A Kansas district court denied a franchisor’s motion for preliminary injunction against its former franchisee who engaged in competing businesses immediately after terminating the franchise relationship....more
A federal district court in Florida denied a former moving and junk hauling franchisee’s motion to dismiss claims of trademark infringement and unfair competition by franchisor College Hunks Hauling Junk (“CHHJ”)....more
A gym franchisor recently secured a preliminary injunction against its former franchisee prohibiting the franchisee from operating an independent gym on the same location and using the franchisor’s trade secrets. Chris...more
A federal court in Oklahoma granted franchisor Pizza Inn, Inc.’s motion for preliminary injunction preventing two former Pizza Inn franchisees – Odetallah and Allen’s Dynamic Food – from operating competing pizza restaurants...more
A California federal court denied Mountain Mike’s Pizza a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) against one of its franchisees who did not renew its franchise agreement and opened a new restaurant under a different name. In...more
An Indiana federal court granted hamburger and milkshake franchisor, Steak n Shake, a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) against a franchisee to enforce post-termination obligations under franchise and area development...more
A Florida federal court granted a preliminary injunction against a terminated franchisee. The court enjoined the ex-franchisee from using the franchisor’s trademarks and trade dress. The court enforced the franchisor’s...more
An ex-franchisee of a vehicle transportation and shipping management franchise was enjoined by a federal court, for two years, from operating a competitive business at its former location in Virginia or anywhere the...more
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
House Panel Questions FDA Officials on Food-Recall Audit - One day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance on proposals to expedite product warnings and recalls, FDA and other health officials...more
In a meaty decision involving the intersection of restrictive covenant and franchise law, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently denied a request by D.P. Dough Franchising, LLC (“D.P....more
EU to Issue Guidelines on Discriminatory Food Distribution - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has reportedly indicated the EU will issue guidelines discouraging companies from selling apparently identical...more
This is the tale of two restaurants, each facing trademark infringement claims under the Lanham Act brought by two, separate franchisors. The franchisees’ restaurants had three things in common: First, cheese is a key...more
Legalized Drug Use Impacts the Food and Beverage Industry - In the November 2016 general election, voters in Arkansas, Florida and North Dakota amended their state constitutions to authorize the use of marijuana for...more
An out-of-state franchisee sought to escape the reach of the Massachusetts District Court in a breach of contract and trademark infringement litigation filed by its Massachusetts-based franchisor. But, the parties quickly...more
At one time or another, many people have occasion to be renters who feel mistreated by a landlord. This may be due to delays in repairs, responses, or just turning on the heat. A typical reaction is the temptation to...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