Congratulations! Your franchise system has opened multiple locations across the state, region or maybe even country. Now, how can you protect against a former franchisee competing with your other locations
Continue Reading Walking the tightrope: Protecting multiple locations vs. overbroad non-competes
Drafting Matters: Franchise agreement fells misrepresentation claim
A federal court in Minnesota recently dismissed a franchisee’s misrepresentation claims thanks to the franchisor’s carefully drafted franchise agreement.
Franchisee Moxie Venture L.L.C. (“Moxie”) brought suit against franchisor The UPS
Continue Reading Drafting Matters: Franchise agreement fells misrepresentation claim
Joint employer claims move forward against hotel franchisor in sexual servitude suit
Browning-Ferris based claims against hotel franchisor Marriott International Incorporated (“Marriott”) will move forward, according to an Illinois federal court. The suit seeks to hold Marriott liable as a joint employer
Continue Reading Joint employer claims move forward against hotel franchisor in sexual servitude suit
California Franchise Relations Act amendments make breaking up hard(er) to do
Finding the right franchisee can be a daunting task. Despite a franchisor’s best efforts, sometimes a franchisee just isn’t a good fit. When it’s not working out, franchisors rely on
Continue Reading California Franchise Relations Act amendments make breaking up hard(er) to do
Want to enforce your arbitration provision? Then say it loud and clear (and unmistakably)!
So, your franchise agreement has an airtight arbitration provision…right? It probably says that if any disputes arise out of your franchise agreement, then they must be arbitrated (rather than litigated).
Continue Reading Want to enforce your arbitration provision? Then say it loud and clear (and unmistakably)!
A Tale of Two Non-Competes: Why Drafting Matters
In a recent blog, we cautioned readers that an overprotective non-compete can result in no protection at all. In that case, Unlimited Opportunity, Inc. v. Waadah, a franchisor
Continue Reading A Tale of Two Non-Competes: Why Drafting Matters
Long Arm of Browning-Ferris? Hotel franchisor named as “joint employer” in alleged sexual servitude suit
A hotel assistant manager who allegedly coerced housekeepers into sexual “servitude” is now defending himself in federal court, along with his employer TMI Hospitality Incorporated (“TMI”). But they’re not alone:
Continue Reading Long Arm of Browning-Ferris? Hotel franchisor named as “joint employer” in alleged sexual servitude suit
Rhode Island: Long arm of state courts may reach many out-of-state franchisors
Franchisors can be made to litigate in their franchisee’s state courts due to commonplace features of the franchisor/franchisee relationship, according to a recent Rhode Island court decision.
In Korsak v.
Continue Reading Rhode Island: Long arm of state courts may reach many out-of-state franchisors
Non-competition provisions: too much protection can be no protection at all.
Beware the overbroad non-competition provision. The Nebraska Supreme Court recently sent this message loud and clear in Unlimited Opportunity, Inc. v. Waadah, 861 N.W.2d 437 (Neb. 2015). There, a
Continue Reading Non-competition provisions: too much protection can be no protection at all.
NLRB Office of General Counsel: Franchisor is NOT joint employer with franchisee
In what many in the industry are likely to see as a commonsense result, a recent advice memorandum issued by the NLRB Office of General Counsel (“OGC”) concluded that franchisor
Continue Reading NLRB Office of General Counsel: Franchisor is NOT joint employer with franchisee