RECENT POSTS
Franchise 101: Is Matco the Next Jan-Pro? and No Legal Cure for Serial Defaults
Franchisor 101: Is Matco the Next Jan-Pro? A federal court in California certified a class of Matco Tools franchisees who claimed to be misclassified by Matco as independent contractors rather than employees. They claimed Matco
Franchise 101: Court Delivers Liquidated Damages; and Convenience Store Pays for Inconvenience
Franchisor 101: Court Delivers Pizza Franchisor Liquidated Damages The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a $2.6 million award of liquidated damages in favor of a pizza franchisor and a summary judgment order enforcing
Franchise 101: California’s Dynamex/ABC Test is Retroactive; and No Excuse for Late Notice
January 28, 2021 Franchisor 101: California’s Dynamex/ABC Test is Retroactive In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the ABC Test announced in a California Supreme Court decision, Dynamex Operations
Franchise 101: AB 5’s Preemptive Strike; and Shelf the Self-Help
December 22, 2020 Franchisor 101: AB 5’s Preemptive Strike Franchisors faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. Enactment of California’s Assembly Bill 5 on January 1, 2020 was just the tip of an iceberg. As the COVID-19
Franchise 101: Court Remediates Damage to Restoration Franchisor; and Fitness Franchisee Exercises Poor Judgment
Franchisor 101: Court Remediates Damage to Restoration Franchisor A federal court in Nashville granted summary judgment on breach of contract claims in favor of a damage restoration franchisor’s lawsuit with a former California franchisee. A
Franchise 101: (Non)Competing for Care; and COVID-19 Defense Leads to Contempt
Franchisor 101: (Non)Competing for Care A U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a federal district court decision partly granting a preliminary injunction sought by a companionship and domestic care services franchisor against a former franchisee, for
Franchise 101: New Joint Employer Rule Nixed for Now; and Trashing the Competition
Franchisor 101: New Joint Employer Rule Nixed In another twist to the joint employer saga, a United States District Court in New York voided the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) new rule for joint employment. Eighteen
Franchise 101: Taking the Red Pill on Non-Compete Covenants; and They Were Just Kidding
Franchisor 101: Taking the Red Pill on Non-Compete Covenants Franchisors and Franchisees in California have long conducted themselves based on precedent that voids post-termination covenants against competition in a franchise agreement in California. Recently, a
Franchise 101: Nothing Personal in Claims Against Hotel Franchisor; and Successor Slips Out of Non-Compete
FRANCHISOR 101: Nothing Personal in Claims Against Hotel Franchisor A guest sued the Hampton Inn and Suites franchisee in Nashville, Tennessee and the franchisor’s parent company, Hilton Domestic Operating Co., Inc. (“Hilton”), claiming race discrimination
Franchise 101: COVID-19 vs. Item 19; and Recruitment Reprimand
FRANCHISOR 101: COVID-19 vs. Item 19 Item 19 of the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) can provide information on how a prospective franchisee may perform financially. Historical financial performance representations (FPRs) may be made if the