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Franchises

Polsinelli

NASAA Supports Reasonable Post-Term Non-Competes in Franchise Agreements

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Last year saw non-compete agreements come under repeated scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission. On April 23, 2024, the FTC issued a final rule banning non-compete agreements in most employment contracts....more

Offit Kurman

Maryland Franchise Reform Act Introduced

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On January 31, 2025, Delegate Marc Korman of Montgomery County introduced Maryland House of Delegates Bill 992, entitled the Franchise Reform Act, which would make the first significant changes to the Maryland Franchise...more

Lewitt Hackman

NASAA Guidance for Franchise Non-Competes

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Last May, the Federal Trade Commission looked to ban non-compete agreements in most employment contracts aside from franchise agreements. Although scheduled to become effective in September, a federal court vacated the ruling...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

New DOJ–FTC Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers: Key Changes and Practical Takeaways

While the original guidelines focused primarily on per se illegal wage-fixing and no-poach agreements, the 2025 Guidelines illustrate a significant expansion in enforcement, broadening scrutiny to compensation benchmarking,...more

McCarter & English, LLP

Antitrust Guidelines for Worker-Related Business Practices: How to Stay on the Right Side of Antitrust Hiring Laws During the...

The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (together, the Agencies) issued Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers (2025 Guidelines) in January. The 2025...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Navigating Joint Employment: A Renewed Push to Implement a More Employer-Friendly Standard

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With a Republican-controlled Congress and White House, business lobbyists are seizing the opportunity to push for permanent clarity on the issue of joint employment. The International Franchise Association (IFA) is advocating...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

A Parting Gift to Labor Markets: Outgoing Antitrust Enforcers Issue Revised Guidelines on Practices Affecting Workers, But Will...

In the final days of the Biden administration, the FTC and DOJ jointly issued antitrust guidelines on business practices that impact workers that replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals, which...more

K&L Gates LLP

New Franchising Code to Commence in April

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The Competition and Consumer (Industry Code–Franchising) Regulations 2024 (Cth) (the New Code Draft), which replaces the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Franchising) Regulation 2014 (the Old Code), is now in force...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

FDD Update Season: Is it time to call your Franchise Litigator?

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January officially starts the “Franchise Disclosure Document (“FDD”) Update Season”. And for franchise lawyers that focus on representing franchisors in the development of FDDs and related tasks, it is arguably the most...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Should the Litigation be in State or Federal Court?

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Deciding whether to choose state or federal court can be outcome determinative. This is particularly important in deciding to remove a case from state to federal court. Some state franchise statutes clearly allow a court to...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

FTC and DOJ Jointly Issue ‘Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers’ on Eve of Trump Administration

Less than a week before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division jointly published guidelines on assessing whether business...more

BakerHostetler

Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Release Guidelines on Business Practices That Impact Workers

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On January 16, 2025, in the waning hours of the Biden-Harris administration, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly released their “Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting...more

Morgan Lewis

DOJ and FTC Issue Antitrust Employment Law Guidelines on Eve of New Administration

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In the final days of the Biden administration and on the eve of significant agency turnover, the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a new set of guidelines addressing...more

Jones Day

DOJ and FTC Issue New Antitrust Guidelines for Business Activities Affecting Workers

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During their last week in office, and over the vigorous dissent of Republican FTC commissioners, Biden administration antitrust officials unveil new guidelines intended to replace the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human...more

Lathrop GPM

Washington Court Grants Summary Judgment Against Attorney General and Awards Fees to Franchisor

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A state court in Washington has granted summary judgment and awarded over $3.4 million in attorneys’ fees and costs to a franchisor in a dispute brought by the Washington Attorney General under the Washington’s Consumer...more

Lathrop GPM

California Federal Court Grants Franchisor’s Motion to Compel Arbitration but Finds Forum Selection and Choice of Law Clauses...

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A federal court in California recently granted franchisor Spiffy Franchising, LLC’s motion to compel arbitration of a franchisee’s claims, but found the North Carolina forum selection and choice of law provisions in the...more

Lathrop GPM

Kansas Federal Court Finds Personal Jurisdiction Over Franchisee’s Alleged Competitive Business in Unfair Competition Case

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In a franchisor’s suit against its franchisee and that franchisee’s new business, a federal court in Kansas recently denied the new business’ motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. HappyFeet-Legends Int’l, Inc....more

Lathrop GPM

Franchisor Not Liable for Alleged Customer Injuries at Franchised Water Park

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A federal court in Mississippi granted summary judgment in favor of a franchisor on negligence claims that arose after eleven children allegedly contracted E. coli in a franchised water park’s pool. Neely v. Great Escapes...more

Allen Matkins

What Is A Franchise?

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If you ask for a definition of "franchise" in California law, there are at least three answers.  Two are statutory and one is judicial.  Corporations Code Section 31005 defines "franchise" for purposes of California's...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

A Lucid Interpretation of “Affiliates” under Washington’s Franchise Act

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A Washington state appeals court has clarified the scope of Washington’s Franchise Act in Lucid Group USA, Inc. v. State of Washington, Department of Licensing. There, Lucid Group USA, Inc. (“Lucid Group”), the dealer, wanted...more

Lathrop GPM

Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of New York Dealer Act Claims

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The Second Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of claims under the New York Franchised Motor Vehicle Dealer Act and various contract claims. Garrand Bros. LLC v. Am. Honda Motor Co., 2024 WL 4691004 (2d Cir. Nov. 6,...more

Freeman Law

How to Compute the Texas Franchise Tax | Exceptions to Standard Computation

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In my most recent blog post, I finished going through the process for computing a taxable entity’s Texas Franchise Tax responsibility. That post can be found here. However, at the end of that post, I noted that there were...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Court Considers Prior Notice, Intentional Acts, and Contract Exclusions as Applied to Insured’s Violation of California Franchise...

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The United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, applying California law, considered several exclusions under a directors and officers liability policy as applied to a violation of the California Franchise...more

IR Global

Key Considerations for Franchise Businesses When Undertaking M&A

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Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the franchise industry are complex transactions that require careful planning, due diligence, and a keen understanding of both pre and post-deal considerations....more

Foley & Lardner LLP

New Requirements for Franchise Brokers in California

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On September 24, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 919 (“SB 919”), amending California’s Franchise Investment Law (“FIL”) to regulate franchise brokers and franchise sales organizations. The law will take effect...more

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