On May 11, 2023, the federal district court in Rapid City, South Dakota, concluded that the South Dakota motor vehicle dealer law did not provide an exclusive list of “good cause” franchise terminations. Eddie’s Truck...more
Terminating a franchise can pose several potential pitfalls and expose a franchisor to significant liability. A franchisor may not simply cancel, terminate, or refuse to renew a franchisee for just any reason....more
A federal court in Michigan granted 7-Eleven’s motion for summary judgment, enforcing the franchisor’s right to terminate a franchisee with repeated defaults, even though each default had been cured. 7-Eleven’s franchise...more
A Wisconsin pizza maker, Heggie’s Pizza (Heggie’s) argued that its relationship with a purported pizza distributor A & B Distribution (A&B), did not meet the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law (WFDL) definition of a “dealership.”...more
City Beverages LLC, doing business as Olympic Eagle Distributing, and Monster Energy Co. entered into an agreement under which Monster had exclusive distribution rights for its products in a certain territory for 20 years....more
A federal district court upheld an arbitration panel’s decision to deny attorneys’ fees to Benihana, even though Benihana won a dispute with its licensee. The licensee started arbitration claiming Benihana breached the...more
A Wisconsin federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of a food service and cleaning equipment maker (“Stoelting”), ruling that minimum purchase requirements under two dealer agreements were not a franchise fee under...more
Three bills aimed at reforming Massachusetts’ controversial beer franchise law failed to make it out of committee this month, frustrating the efforts of brewers and beer distributors alike. Both sides will now go back to the...more
In a recent win for franchisor 7-Eleven, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a New Jersey district court’s ruling that 7-Eleven properly terminated its franchise agreements for cause based on the...more
JUNE 29th STATE SENATE HEARING TO DISCUSS PROPOSED NEW LAW (June 22nd hearing postponed to June 29th. See http://sbp.senate.ca.gov/agenda) - On May 14, 2015, the California state assembly passed AB 525, and on June...more