The Supreme Court issued a decision Thursday in a case named Smith, et al. v. Spizzirri, et al., that has significant import for the franchise community. Many, if not the vast majority of, franchise agreements contain clauses...more
5/17/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Certiorari ,
Dismissals ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Franchises ,
Judicial Proceedings ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
SCOTUS ,
Smith v Spizzirri ,
Stays
If you attended this year’s IFA Annual Convention in Phoenix, you heard Senator Joe Manchin strongly support and defend the franchise business model in a speech. Late on Wednesday, Senator Manchin used his vote to back up the...more
On May 16, 2023, the Minnesota legislature adopted a revision to the Minnesota Statutes (§181.99) which prohibits restrictive franchise agreements commonly called “no-poach” or “non-solicitation” agreements. Specifically,...more
On Labor Day, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act), which authorized the California Department of Industrial Relations to create a Fast Food Council...more
This fall we posted about the North American Securities Administrators’ (NASAA) adoption of a Statement of Policy Regarding the Use of Franchise Questionnaires and Acknowledgments (the “SOP”). Technically, NASAA’s SOP...more
On Labor Day, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act), which authorized the California Department of Industrial Relations to create a Fast Food Council...more
While the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act was passed by the House of Representatives, it has not been made part of the Biden administration’s infrastructure efforts thus far and does not appear have sufficient support...more
The California version of the ABC test is arguably the most hostile to franchising. Nonetheless, the risk is not confined to California.
This is because the ABC employee classification test, with variations, has been...more
The second troublesome threat is the joint employment standard. The Obama Adminstration DOL caused angst in the franchise industry in January 2016, when it adopted a joint employment standard that focused on “whether the...more
Omens of the Apocalypse for the franchise industry are everywhere:
•The pending Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act;
•The return of David Weill, author of Fissured Employment and chief architect of the Obama era...more
The PRO Act would do serious, and perhaps mortal, damage to the franchise industry. It would make sweeping changes to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), and the Labor...more
Starting on July 1, 2021. the NCAA permitted student-athletes throughout the country to profit from their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”). This decision marks a major shift from the NCAA’s longstanding amateurism model. ...more
EB-5 Investments are a popular way of raising capital for franchise expansion. So it came as a bit of a shock last week the EB-5 Program was rocked by two major developments.
EB-5 Modernization Rule Struck Down (For...more
Big News from the Office of Pennsylvania Governor Wolf today! While there does not yet seem to be an Order, the Governor’s Office issued a press release today outlining significant changes to targeted COVID-19 business...more
Back at the beginning of the pandemic, there was a flurry of articles that maybe, just maybe, insurance would cover losses at businesses closed by the pandemic. I was skeptical. Now, as more cases roll in, it looks as if that...more
Congress passed a wide-ranging COVID-19 relief package on December 22, 2020, that provides over $900 billion in aid to individuals and businesses. President Trump has now signed the relief bill, called the...more
At 4 p.m. today, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (who himself has tested positive for COVID) and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine issued new, “limited-time”, targeted COVID mitigation orders. The orders hit the franchise...more
(This post solely reflects the views of the author, and not that of Fox Rothschild or any of its other attorneys.)
While I am not opposed to immunity laws generally, I am not fan of immunity that is too broad. Given that...more
I blogged a while ago about the Green Phase of reopening in Pennsylvania, and how it did not mean “go” but something more nuanced. Something like “proceed with caution”. Today, Governor Wolf called for even more vigilance,...more
If you’re in the Keystone State, you know that many counties will be moving into the Yellow and Green Phases of Governor Wolf’s Reopening Pennsylvania Plan on June 5th. This blog previously covered the requirements of the...more
Let’s posit you have operations in Pennsylvania, where I live, and those operations are in located in one of the Northcentral or Northwestern Counties (including Erie) that went to Yellow Phase on May 8th, or one of the...more
In a BIG win for brand owners, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the plaintiff in a trademark infringement claim is not required to prove willfulness when seeking an award of a defendant’s profits under Section 1117(a) of...more
Surprise! On April 8th, FASB delayed for one year the implementation of the new ASC 606 revenue recognition standards for private companies, citing the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to delaying implementation, FASB...more
Need and speed can be a dangerous combination. Just ask Peter “Maverick” Mitchell. That’s a lesson that lenders and borrowers are discovering with CARES Act Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans. The CARES Act’s PPP...more
On April 3, 2020, banks commenced taking applications for the Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”), Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) loans, as provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act aka...more