A federal court in California granted two motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim in an action asserting discrimination and tortious interference claims against Volvo Car USA and its franchisee Haron Motor Sales, Inc....more
A federal district court in Texas denied a preliminary injunction filed by a franchisee (“EYM”) after Pizza Hut, as franchisor, terminated the franchise agreements....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
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
Called upon by the Ninth Circuit in Ixchel Pharma, LLC v. Biogen, Inc. to answer two key questions concerning the validity of a settlement provision requiring a party’s termination of a collaboration agreement with a...more
California is known for having the most aggressive approach among the states regarding restraints on profession, trade, and business. Specifically, California Business and Professions Code section 16600 codifies this...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
The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that a beer manufacturer’s “match and redirect” provision in an agreement with a wholesaler violated the state’s Beer Industry Fair Dealing Act (BIFDA). Anheuser-Busch’s contract said if...more
Tax service franchisor, H&R Block, was recently vindicated in having terminated a franchisee for violating an in-term non-compete covenant. A United States District Court granted the franchisor summary judgment in Devore v....more
In a meaty decision involving the intersection of restrictive covenant and franchise law, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio recently denied a request by D.P. Dough Franchising, LLC (“D.P....more
FRANCHISOR 101: When is Unreasonable, Reasonable? Crown Imports, LLC (Crown) imports Corona beer from Mexico. In 2008, two of Crown's Southern California distributors, Classic and HBC, agreed that Classic would buy...more