In cases involving contracts between U.S. companies, courts frequently allow a nonsignatory to a contract to enforce an arbitration provision in the contract against a signatory when the signatory to the contract relies on...more
6/3/2020
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Contract Terms ,
Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards ,
Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ,
Equitable Estoppel ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Foreign Arbitral Awards ,
GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS v. Outokumpu Stainless USA LLC ,
Motion to Compel ,
Non-Signatories ,
SCOTUS ,
State Law Claims ,
Subcontractors
A recession is coming, if it is not already here. But this won’t be a recession like 2008. Back then, the banks threw you under the bus so that they could survive. Today, they are stronger. More importantly, they know they...more
Franchise systems, and many licensing arrangements contain anti-poaching provisions. These provisions are being tested under the antitrust laws as being anticompetitive. This article will discuss the benefits and burdens of...more
The 2019 “Best and Worst Franchise” rankings have been published by Forbes. The franchise analytics firm, FRANdata, was commissioned to apply a methodology that ranks franchise brands on “health and appeal,” from the...more
A meal kit contains the ingredients necessary to prepare a meal, and many are intended to be balanced and healthy. Meal kits are being marketed for all occasions to provide freshly prepared meal options. Kits answer not only...more
The long awaited ruling in Mission Products Holding, Inc. v. Tempnology LLC (In re Tempnology) has simplified the intersection of bankruptcy and trademark law, with the court holding that rejection “constitutes a breach” of...more
5/22/2019
/ Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (BAP) ,
Bankruptcy Code ,
Breach of Contract ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Debtors ,
Exclusions ,
Executory Contracts ,
IP License ,
Mission Product Holdings Inc v Tempnology LLC ,
Rescission ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 365 ,
Split of Authority ,
Trademark Licenses ,
Trademarks ,
Trustees
In the near future, customers will likely be ordering their fast food through their smart home devices, such as Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home. Gary Vaynerchuk, chairman of VaynerX, a modern-day media and communications...more
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has requested public comments on its Trade Regulation Rule entitled “Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions Concerning Franchising” (the “Rule”). The Rule makes it an unfair or deceptive...more
Last time we asked, given the high number of restaurant concept bankruptcies and money sloshing around in the sector, is there still more upside than downside in the restaurant franchising sector? We can find the answer by...more
Imagine operating a single restaurant. The food keeps bringing them in, and prices are relatively stable. Consumer confidence is high, unemployment low, discretionary income rising, and people are going out more. Now multiply...more
To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” That is true in any business, but particularly so in franchising. Planning is more important in franchising because franchising leverages a...more
In our last post, we examined some of the types of risk that come with growth. In this post, we discuss some forms of diligence that may be used to better manage that risk....more
Growth can be expensive, but it is always more expensive when the expansion is taken without risk assessment. Whether domestic or foreign, many risks can be reduced or avoided by proper consideration of differences between...more
Renewed Efforts to End No Poaching Provisions-
Franchisors need to review their franchise agreements and take immediate action in response to the recent onslaught of legal action over “naked no poaching” provisions in...more
Franchisors need to review their franchise agreements and take immediate action in response to the recent onslaught of legal action over “no poaching” provisions in franchise agreements.
In a typical franchise agreement, a...more
Change is inevitable in a franchise system, and disclosure then becomes a concern. Disclosure may be a business issue for the existing franchisees, but it becomes a legal issue in the offer and sale of franchises. The...more
Succession plans ask what will happen when the principal owner/operator is not available.
A succession plan may be coordinated with an estate plan, which contemplates dispositive transfers through sale, and other means....more
Restaurant operators and their financiers often need to predict the future. The operators, mostly from franchised brands, need to adapt to changing tastes and fashion. The financiers need to assess risk before making...more