The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court’s dismissal of two claims brought by distributors against the medical-device manufacturer Zimmer Biomet. It also affirmed a jury verdict in favor of the distributors on their breach of contract claim under Indiana law. Hess v. Biomet, Inc., 105 F.4th 912 (7th Cir. 2024).
A federal court in Wisconsin recently denied a haircare product dealer’s motion for summary judgment on its Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law (WFDL) and breach of contract claims against the dealer’s national distributor. Brava Salon Specialists, LLC v. REF N. Am., Inc., 2024 WL 3443799 (W.D. Wis. July 16, 2024).
A federal court in Wisconsin recently dismissed a multi-district class action suit in which owners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles asserted that Harley-Davidson violated the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA), as well as state antitrust and consumer protection laws. In re Harley-Davidson Aftermarket Parts Marketing, Sales Practices, and Antitrust Litigation, 2024 WL 2846349 (E.D. Wis. June 5, 2024).
An Illinois federal court recently denied a motion by Southern Glazer Wine and Spirits, LLC and Republic National Distributing Company, LLC (RNDC) to dismiss various claims for violations of state and federal antitrust and unfair competition laws asserted by Plaintiff Tiz, Inc., (d/b/a Provi), an online alcohol platform that operates as a “one-stop shop” for retailers to search for and purchase alcohol products across distributors. Tiz, Inc. v. S. Glazer's Wine & Spirits, LLC, 2024 WL 2785142 (N.D. Ill. May 30, 2024).
In July 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) withdrew its appeal of a March 2024 federal district court decision striking down the NLRB’s 2023 joint employer rule. In that decision, the Eastern District of Texas vacated the 2023 Rule after finding that the NLRB’s decision to rescind the 2020 rule was “arbitrary and capricious.” Chamber of Commerce v. Nat'l Labor Relations Board, No. 6:23-cv-00553 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 8, 2024).
As we recently reported in a client alert, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted a motion for preliminary injunction against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), enjoining enforcement of the FTC’s nationwide noncompete ban for the plaintiffs currently in front of the court.
Minnesota has become the 19th state to pass a comprehensive data privacy law. On May 24, Governor Tim Walz signed into law the Minnesota Consumer Privacy Act (H.F. 4757) (the “MCPA”), which takes effect July 31, 2025.
About this Publication
The Franchise Memorandum is a collection of postings on summaries of recent legal developments of interest to franchisors brought to you by Lathrop GPM LLP.
To subscribe to monthly emails for The Franchise Memorandum, please click here.
RSS Feed