A Delaware court found a yoga studio franchisee was entitled to an order requiring the franchisor to buy all of the franchisee’s yoga studios in six states. The court held the franchisor breached its contractual obligation...more
A federal court in Virginia denied tax franchisor, Liberty Tax’s, motion to dismiss complaints by two of its area developers (“ADs”). The ADs claimed Liberty Tax breached their contract for wrongfully terminating, failing to...more
2/28/2022
/ Breach of Contract ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Renewal ,
Contract Termination ,
Contract Terms ,
Development Agreements ,
Failure To Pay ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Royalties ,
Wrongful Termination
An Indiana federal court granted hamburger and milkshake franchisor, Steak n Shake, a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) against a franchisee to enforce post-termination obligations under franchise and area development...more
A Georgia district court declined to dismiss a breach of contract case by a hotel franchisor against a franchisee. The court rejected the franchisee’s argument that the franchisor waived its rights under the parties’ license...more
An area developer entered into three agreements with a pizza franchisor and developed 50 franchises in Texas. The franchisor, Pizza Inn, Inc., tried to terminate all three contracts, though each had a twenty-year initial term...more
A federal court in Louisiana granted a preliminary injunction against a former franchisee of Liberty Tax Service for breaching post-termination covenants under a franchise agreement.
Liberty Tax entered into franchise...more
A federal district court denied KFC’s defensive summary judgment motion, enabling its franchisee to go to trial on claims against KFC for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by opening a competing...more
A Louisiana appellate court affirmed a trial court’s finding that there was a signed franchise agreement between the parties even though the franchisor could not produce the signed original.
Brooke and Michael Hyde decided...more
On competing motions for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) by ReBath – a nationwide bathroom remodeling franchisor, and its terminated franchisee, ReBath prevailed in restraining the ex-franchisee’s further operations. A...more
6/30/2021
/ Breach of Contract ,
Contract Termination ,
Counterclaims ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Failure To Pay ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Implied Covenants ,
Lowe's ,
Royalties ,
TRO
A group of franchisees sued OsteoStrong, a franchisor of bone density improvement centers. They claimed omissions in the FDD about bankruptcies and lawsuits, and misrepresentations of patent rights to equipment and...more
6/1/2021
/ Breach of Contract ,
Civil Liability ,
Criminal Liability ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Medical Devices ,
Preliminary Injunctions
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 federal court in New Jersey denied a 7-Eleven franchisee’s motion for a temporary restraining order. The franchisee sought an order enjoining 7-Eleven from enforcing various franchise agreement provisions, including charges...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a trial court judgment against a Texas franchisor, finding the lower court erred in excusing an untimely renewal notice of area development agreements. The Court held a...more
2/1/2021
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Renewal ,
Contract Terms ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Development Agreements ,
Failure to Notify ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Late Notices ,
Notice of Intent ,
Reversal
A federal court in Denver granted Fitness Together Franchise, LLC a preliminary injunction against the owner of three former franchisees, three former franchisee entities and three additional entities formed to operate a...more
A federal court in Nashville granted summary judgment on breach of contract claims in favor of a damage restoration franchisor’s lawsuit with a former California franchisee.
A Servpro franchisee had a territory in Los...more
In a misappropriation of trade secrets action, a franchisor sued a prospective franchisee, claiming breach of a non-disclosure agreement ("NDA") by operating a competing business. The prospective franchisee signed the NDA...more
A Florida federal court granted a preliminary injunction against a terminated franchisee. The court enjoined the ex-franchisee from using the franchisor’s trademarks and trade dress. The court enforced the franchisor’s...more
8/4/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Employee Relocations ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchise Termination ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Parties ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Successor Interests ,
Successor Liability ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks
A Massachusetts state court ruled that real estate franchisor, Re/Max of New England (Franchisor), breached its franchise agreements, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and violated Massachusetts’ consumer...more
A federal court in Maryland entered default judgment and a permanent injunction in favor of an ice cream franchisor against a franchisee that continued operating its ice cream shop after termination....more
A federal appeals court reversed dismissal of a claim against a barbeque restaurant franchisor. The court found that, despite having signed releases in favor of the franchisor, a former franchisee had valid claims for...more
5/5/2020
/ Actual Malice ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Business Partners ,
Buyouts ,
Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ,
Dismissals ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Fraud ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Reversal ,
Tortious Interference ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Waivers
A federal district court in Michigan granted a preliminary injunction in favor of tax preparation franchisor, Liberty Tax Service (JTH Tax, Inc. v. Magnotte, E.D. Mich., ¶16,575), finding it was likely to succeed on its...more
5/1/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Termination ,
Customer Lists ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Loss of Goodwill ,
Lost Profits ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Tax Preparers
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
2/5/2020
/ Breach of Contract ,
Community of Interest ,
Contract Termination ,
Dealerships ,
Distributors ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Food Safety ,
Franchise Acts ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Good Cause ,
Notice Requirements ,
Oral Contracts ,
Right To Cure ,
State Law Claims
Twin City Lodging LLC bought a Best Western Hotel in Mankato, Minnesota, then entered into a “Membership Agreement” with Best Western International. Best Western granted Twin City a license to operate the hotel under Best...more
10/1/2019
/ Best Western ,
Breach of Contract ,
Community of Interest ,
Counterclaims ,
Franchise Fees ,
Franchise Termination ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Franchisors ,
Hotels ,
Licenses ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Notice Requirements ,
Trademark Infringement
Ten years after the franchisor of the EXIT real estate system entered into a franchise agreement for a franchisee to operate an EXIT franchise in Maitland, Florida, the parties entered into another franchise agreement for a...more
7/31/2019
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Damages ,
Franchise Agreements ,
Franchisee ,
Franchisors ,
Fraud ,
Oral Contracts ,
Promissory Estoppel ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Reversal ,
Statute of Frauds ,
Unjust Enrichment ,
Void and Unenforceable ,
Written Agreements
Eskimo Hut, a franchisor of convenience stores that sell frozen daiquiris-to-go, convinced a Texas appellate court that it would probably win on claims that South Plains, a franchisee using a nonconforming drink mix, breached...more