A federal court in New Jersey denied plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration or leave to file an interlocutory appeal challenging the court’s decision to grant defendants’ motion to transfer the case to the Western District of New York. Minnebo v. Metal Supermarkets Franchising Am. Inc., 2024 WL 1928458 (D.N.J. Apr. 30, 2024).
A federal court in New York recently granted a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction in an action asserting claims that franchisor Hyatt Corporation acted with negligence in connection with assaults to guests that occurred at a resort in the Dominican Republic. Christie v. Hyatt Corp., 2024 WL 2387513 (E.D.N.Y. May 23, 2024).
On May 10, 2024, the DOJ announced criminal indictments and the SEC filed a civil lawsuit for alleged securities fraud against FAT Brands and related persons.
A very large class action settlement involving payment cards has an approaching deadline for class members to file claims. The class is very broad, defined as “all persons, businesses, and other entities that have accepted any Visa-Branded Cards and/or Mastercard-Branded Cards in the United States at any time from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019.”
The United States Supreme Court recently determined that an exemption to the Federal Arbitration Act excluding workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce from coverage under the Act includes a transportation worker employed by a company outside of the transportation industry. Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries Park St., LLC, 601 U.S. 246 (2024).
A federal court in Ohio recently granted summary judgment in favor of multiple hotel franchisors on sex trafficking claims brought under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). S.C. v. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc., 2024 WL 1429114 (N.D. Ohio Apr. 2, 2024).
A Michigan bankruptcy court recently granted debtor/franchisee Empower Central Michigan Inc.’s motion to reject a franchise agreement as an executory contract but found that a non-compete clause and a related confidentiality agreement remained enforceable. In re: Empower Cent. Michigan, Inc., 2024 WL 1848504 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. Apr. 26, 2024).
A federal court in New Jersey recently granted a franchisor’s motion for a preliminary injunction, enjoining the former franchisee from using the franchisor’s marks and violating the franchise agreement’s noncompete clause, as narrowed by the court. GPI, LLC v. Patriot Goose Control Inc., 2024 WL 1704731 (D.N.J. Apr. 18, 2024).
A federal court in Texas has denied an individual owner’s motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction despite the fact that he had not signed the relevant franchise agreement or corporate guaranty in his individual capacity. Alamo Intermediate II Holdings, LLC v. Birmingham Alamo Movies, LLC, 2024 WL 1813449 (W.D. Tex. Apr. 25, 2024).
A New Jersey appellate court, reversing a summary judgment decision, recently held that the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, Inc. (the Coalition) had associational standing to bring an action against Ford Motor Company for declaratory and injunctive relief. N.J. Coal. of Auto. Retailers, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 2024 WL 1461817 (N.J. Sup. Ct. App. Div. Apr. 4, 2024).
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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.
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