Mealey's Franchise : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Franchise

September 01, 2021
Final Approval Granted To Franchisee’s Upper-Tier Minimum Wage Class Settlement

LAS VEGAS — A federal judge in Nevada on Aug. 30 issued an order granting final approval of a more than $858,000 settlement to be paid by a Wendy’s franchisee in Nevada to settle class claims that it failed to pay workers who declined health benefits upper-tier minimum wages pursuant to state law.
August 30, 2021
3rd Circuit Affirms Franchisor’s Motion Seeking To Halt Use Of Trademarks

PHILADELPHIA — Two companies that purchased the right to franchise fitness studios failed to show that they are likely to succeed on claims that the fitness studio creator and her two companies breached their agreement or violated a noncompete clause when the creator failed to immediately begin operating her existing studios as franchises and instead began operating them under another name, the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Aug. 10, affirming a district court’s denial of a motion for preliminary injunction.
August 30, 2021
McDonald’s Franchise, Workers Reach Settlement In COVID-19 Nuisance Suit

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A McDonald’s restaurant in Oakland, Calif., has agreed to improve its COVID-19 safety protocols in a settlement announced Aug. 5 to resolve a public nuisance lawsuit filed by its employees.
August 30, 2021
Washington Panel: Arbitrator’s Lost Profits For Franchisee Exceeded Authority

SEATTLE — A trial court’s order confirming an arbitration award of damages for a Pump It Up franchisee due to lost profits was reversed because the arbitrator exceeded his authority when he relied on New York case law to reclassify lost profits as actual damages even though the lessor and franchisee agreed to resolve disputes under Washington law, a Washington appellate court held Aug. 16, remanding for the trial court to vacate the order and order a rehearing.
August 27, 2021
Delaware Judge Denies Franchisor’s Motion To Stay In Vicarious Liability Suit

GEORGETOWN, Del. — A Delaware judge on Aug. 6 denied a franchisor’s motion to stay the proceedings in a lawsuit concerning liability for an alleged sexual assault by a franchisee’s former employee pending arbitration between the plaintiff customer and another franchisor defendant.
August 27, 2021
Judge OKs Checkers Data Breach Settlement, Rejecting Magistrate’s Recommendation

TAMPA, Fla. — After multiple rounds of briefing and a contrary view by a magistrate judge, a Florida federal judge on Aug. 25 granted final approval to the settlement of a class action over a 2019 data breach experienced by Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc., with the judge finding that the lead plaintiffs sufficiently establish standing to bring their claims, declining to adopt the magistrate’s recommendation to deny approval.
August 26, 2021
6th Circuit Rejects Sonic’s Class Certification Appeal In Data Breach Suit

CINCINNATI — Sonic Corp. failed to establish the need for an interlocutory appeal of a trial court’s ruling granting class certification to a group of plaintiff financial institutions (FIs) in a consolidated class action over the fast food chain’s 2017 data breach, a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Aug. 24, finding that some of the defendant’s arguments pertain to causation rather than class certification.
August 26, 2021
Class Certification Denied In Employee’s No-Poach Suit Against Jimmy John’s

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A federal judge in Illinois in a partially redacted memorandum and order docketed July 30 denied motions for class certification and to strike declarations by a few franchisees in a lawsuit accusing a sandwich shop franchisor of wage suppression through the use of no-poach agreements with its franchisees.
August 25, 2021
Franchise Independent Contractor Question Certified To Massachusetts High Court

BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 9, in a case concerning 7-Eleven franchisees who have claimed in a putative class complaint that they were misclassified as independent contractors, certified a question to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court concerning the application of the state’s independent contractor test to relationships between a franchisor and franchisees.
August 25, 2021
Divided Panel: Domain Names Are Confusingly Similar To Trademarks

ATLANTA — A panel majority of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 6 upheld a Florida federal judge’s grant of summary judgment, agreeing that several accused domain names are confusingly similar to a trademark owned by a nationwide franchisor of hair removal services.
August 25, 2021
10th Circuit Dismisses Appeal Of Trademark Injunction As Moot

DENVER — The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 5 dismissed an appeal by a Sonic franchisee and its affiliates of a preliminary injunction barring their use of the “Sonic” trademark, which was later converted by an Oklahoma federal judge to a permanent injunction.
August 23, 2021
Wendy’s Franchisee Settles Nevada Upper-Tier Minimum Wage Class Claims

LAS VEGAS — A federal judge in Nevada on Aug. 19, according to a docket entry, granted final approval of a more than $858,000 settlement to be paid by a Wendy’s franchisee in Nevada to settle class claims that it failed to pay workers who declined health benefits upper-tier minimum wages pursuant to state law.
August 12, 2021
McDonald’s, Franchisees, NLRB Argue Against Reopening Joint Employment Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — McDonald’s USA LLC and franchisees filed intervenor briefs in the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 10 supporting arguments by the National Labor Relations Board opposing efforts by unions to reopen arguments in an already settled joint employment dispute.
August 10, 2021
NLRB Argues Against Reopening Joint Employment Dispute After Settlement

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Settlement agreements between a fast food franchisor and franchisees accused of retaliating against workers involved in an organizing campaign for higher pay and now being challenged by two unions were reached via compromise and approved after changes to the joint-employer standard, the National Labor Relations Board argues in a brief filed Aug. 3 in the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals opposing the unions’ arguments that they should be permitted to present new evidence and challenging the standard of review used by the NLRB.
August 09, 2021
3rd Circuit: Parties Must Address Appealability Of Pandemic Layoff Suit

PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 2 ordered the parties in a lawsuit accusing an auto dealership of laying off a sales manager who requested to work from home after the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States in March 2020 to file responses addressing the appealability of a trial court’s order staying the case and compelling arbitration.
August 05, 2021
Federal Jury: Harley-Davidson Dealer Owes $500,000 For Sex Discrimination

TAMPA, Fla. — A federal jury in Florida on Aug. 3 returned a $500,000 punitive damages verdict in a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for a former Harley-Davidson dealer employee who alleged that she was denied a promotion due to her gender.
August 03, 2021
California High Court: Pay Rate For Missed Breaks Includes Nondiscretionary Pay

SAN FRANCISCO — The one hour of pay at the “regular rate of compensation” that must be provided under California law to employees when a meal or rest break is not provided “encompasses all nondiscretionary payments,” the California Supreme Court ruled July 15.
July 29, 2021
DOL Announces Final Rule Rescinding Trump-Era Joint Employer Status Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on July 29 announced a final rule that will become effective on Sept. 28 rescinding a joint employer status rule that took effect under President Donald J. Trump’s administration in March 2020.
July 29, 2021
Guest Settles Claims Against Hotel Franchise; Racial Bias Claims Dismissed

RICHMOND, Va. — A Black hotel guest who alleged that a security guard discriminated and committed a hate crime against him under federal and state statutes when he repeatedly asked the guest in the hotel lobby if he “belonged there” and requested identification stipulated to dismiss the matter against Hilton hotel franchise owners and operators and a security service provider with prejudice on July 21 in a federal district court in Virginia.
July 26, 2021
Judge Grants Marriott Extension To Produce Discovery In Unfair Competition Suit

SAN DIEGO — A federal magistrate judge in California on July 20 granted a third joint motion for an extension of time to produce documents in a putative class action accusing Marriott of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other state statutes.
July 26, 2021
9th Circuit: Franchisee Failed To Prove Enrichment, Not Entitled To Restitution

SAN FRANCISCO — A franchisor of direct marketing services was properly granted summary judgment on a franchisee’s counterclaims because the franchisee was bound by his election of restitution as his remedy and because he failed to prove that the franchisor was enriched by its allegedly illegal conduct, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed July 21 in an unpublished opinion.
July 26, 2021
Domino’s Ordered To Make Its Website Accessible For Blind Patrons

LOS ANGELES — Domino’s Pizza LLC is required to bring its website into compliance with federal accessibility guidelines, a California federal judge ruled in a June 23 in chambers order, granting partial summary judgment to a blind man who sued the pizza chain for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA.)
July 23, 2021
Pizza Delivery Drivers’ Wage Settlement Approved After Attorney Fees Reduced

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A federal judge in Kentucky on July 13 granted final approval of a more than $750,000 collective and class settlement between a Papa John’s franchisee and delivery drivers who brought wage claims but reduced the attorney fees requested as the attorneys would receive more than the actual claim payments to the class.
July 23, 2021
DOL Recovers Back Wages For More Than 100 Employees Of Denny’s Franchisee

HOUSTON — The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on July 20 announced the recovery of $73,735 in wages for 160 employees after a Denny’s franchisee illegally deducted the costs of uniforms from employees resulting in wages less than the minimum requirements.
July 22, 2021
Sex Harassment Class Claims Against McDonald’s Survive Motions To Dismiss, Strike

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on July 20 denied motions to dismiss and strike claims of sexual harassment, hostile work environment and retaliation in a class lawsuit alleging years of “pervasive” unwanted treatment of females in locations around the country.