A California federal court granted a motion to compel arbitration by retail franchisor Batteries Plus and its two executives, and dismissed a franchisee’s action alleging violations of the California Franchise Investment Law,...more
A Wisconsin federal district court allowed an insurance company’s field representative’s allegations that his representation agreement was an unregistered franchise to proceed beyond the pleading stage....more
A Minnesota federal court ruled in favor of a franchise broker on summary judgment. The court dismissed misrepresentation claims brought by a military veteran who alleged unlawful inducement to invest in a failed kickboxing...more
A federal court in Missouri ruled that a franchisee’s fraud claim cannot be based on the franchisor’s prediction at a franchise expo of future success in the franchised business....more
5/29/2020
/ Burden of Proof ,
Dismissals ,
Due Diligence ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Fraud ,
Misrepresentation ,
Negotiations ,
Puffery ,
Reasonable Reliance Claims ,
Trade Shows
Morgan Rothschild (“Rothschild”), sole owner of the Party Princess franchise system, sold a party planning franchise for the territory of Washington and promised the franchisee would achieve certain sales. Prior to the sale,...more
8/1/2019
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Agency Deference ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Forum ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Interpretive Opinions ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motion to Compel
Hot dog franchisor, Charlie Graingers, was unable to obtain dismissal of a federal lawsuit brought by franchisees alleging fraud, misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty....more
2/28/2019
/ Breach of Duty ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchise Disclosure Document ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Fraud ,
Misrepresentation ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Release Agreements
A franchisor is allowed to make "financial performance representations" in its disclosure documents. These figures may project how much money a franchisee is likely to make and can play a critical part in the franchisor's...more
Most experienced franchisors know better than to make claims about profits franchisees can expect when those claims do not match the information in the franchisor's Franchise Disclosure Document. However, if a franchisor or...more
Rob & Bud's Pizza ("R&B") is a Papa Murphy's franchisee and owns and operates multiple Papa Murphy's Take 'n' Bake Pizza restaurants in Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas. In April 2014, R&B and other Papa Murphy's franchisees...more
A federal court in Florida has ruled that a disclaimer of representations contained in the franchise agreement between a childcare business franchisor and its franchisees barred claims against the franchisor for alleged...more