Bill on Bankruptcy: What's in the $83M ResCap Examiner's Report?
On September 13, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas granted in part and denied in part UMB Bank’s motion to dismiss counterclaims for tortious interference, breach of contract, and breach of the duty of...more
A federal court in Massachusetts has dismissed franchise claims brought against a manufacturer, concluding that the distributor had failed to identify a franchise fee that would qualify it for protection from non-renewal...more
In a late-March 2023 decision out of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, a court denied a plaintiff's request for attorneys' fees against a defendant who filed "objectively specious" counterclaims...more
Lenders seeking to challenge controversial, often punitive, liability management transactions scored a recent win in Boardriders. The transaction at issue, a priming uptier exchange transaction favoring certain...more
The South Carolina Supreme Court issued two decisions late in 2021 that may impact employers’ and co-workers’ potential liability in litigation arising from an employee’s discharge....more
In a decision this month, the South Carolina Supreme Court held that a third party’s intentional interference with an at-will employee can give rise to a cause of action by a former employee for tortious interference with...more
Employees in South Carolina who report workplace misconduct may soon find themselves personally named as defendants in employment lawsuits following a recent noteworthy decision from the South Carolina Supreme Court. Managers...more
A federal court in New Hampshire found a multi-unit operator of five Planet Fitness gyms plausibly alleged the franchisor interfered with its business relationships and denied Planet Fitness’ motion for judgment on the...more
Last week, Peter Mahler blogged about a recent decision holding that a minority shareholder’s claim against its majority co-owners for breach of fiduciary duty in connection with a sale of the business to a third party...more
Welcome to The Franchise Memorandum by Lathrop GPM, formerly known as The GPMemorandum. Periodically, The Franchise Memorandum focuses on topics primarily of interest to companies that use distributors and dealers rather than...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
During an interview with Bloomberg TV on March 6th, Lawrence Summers, former Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, observed: “Economic time has stopped but financial time has not stopped.” An incisive summary as any of the current...more
With the New Year comes new medical staff leaders and a new set of growing pains. Contrary to what many of us believe, some simple steps can lessen the pain. ...more
On June 28, 2019, in Barrow-Shaver Resources Co. v. Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc., the Texas Supreme Court confirmed that industry customs cannot qualify an unrestricted consent-to-assign provision contained in a farmout agreement,...more
Switching from defense to offense, Zillow Group, Inc., best known for its residential real estate marketplace technology, recently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington alleging a...more
A recent Seventh Circuit opinion written by Judge Posner addresses both the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and some issues of damages proof in a particularly appropriate Wisconsin context: dairy-equipment...more