Patent Infringement: Successful Litigation Stays the "Course"
A federal court in Washington recently granted a motion brought by franchisor Nurse Next Door Home Healthcare Services, Inc. (NND) to compel arbitration of a Florida-based franchisee’s claims. Nurse Next Door Home Healthcare...more
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 federal court in California recently granted a motion brought by a franchisor and two of its employees to compel arbitration and dismiss an action alleging violations of the California Franchise Investment Law, breach of...more
A recent case decided by the Ohio Court of Appeals reminds new franchisors to tread carefully when converting existing licensees to future franchisees. In the case of Okolish v. Town Money Saver, Inc., a coupon clipper...more
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of a motion to stay pending arbitration because the claims of the franchisor, Breadeaux’s Pisa, did not fall within the mandatory stay provision of the Federal...more
A federal court in Tennessee recently granted a franchisor’s motion to compel arbitration, including as to questions of arbitrability, in response to a 15 count complaint brought by 54 separate franchisees. Anthony v. Van...more
A federal court in Tennessee granted franchisor Frost Shades’ motion to compel arbitration of franchisee Lunt’s fraudulent inducement of contract claims, but the court also granted in part franchisee Lunt’s request for a...more
An Oregon federal court denied a franchisor’s motion to compel the principals and personal guarantors of a franchisee into arbitration because the parties did not sign arbitration agreements in the franchise documents....more
The plaintiffs filed a class action against Domino’s, alleging that the company’s franchise agreement violated federal antitrust law as well as state law. Domino’s moved to compel arbitration, and the plaintiffs opposed on...more
A federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s refusal to order arbitration against a franchisee who bought an existing franchise. This was despite a provision in the franchise agreement to arbitrate “most disputes.”...more
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
A federal court in New Jersey granted a franchisor's motion to compel arbitration of disputes involving seven frozen yogurt franchises, even though the claims were subject to different arbitration provisions in different...more
The Ninth Circuit reversed a district court ruling that had compelled arbitration, holding that a party may not enforce an arbitration agreement where the clause is contained in a nonbinding contract. The parties had entered...more
Though some of the more important terms may appear early in a franchise agreement, some key terms placed near the end - the portion of the agreement that is often called "boilerplate" - may determine who wins or loses a legal...more
The world’s largest Pizza Hut franchisee, NPC International, Inc. (“NPC”), which operates more than 1200 Pizza Hut restaurants in the United States, was sued in federal district court by employees in five separate collective...more