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

Mealey's Franchise

April 05, 2021
Magistrate Judge Recommends Dismissing Man’s Bias Suit Against Mitsubishi Franchisor

NEW YORK — A New York federal magistrate judge on March 18 recommended that a Mitsubishi dealership franchisor be dismissed from a terminated franchisee employee’s suit alleging age and race discrimination. The magistrate judge said the franchisor had not been named in the underlying Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge and was not the plaintiff’s employer or joint employer.
April 02, 2021
New Jersey Appeals Court Reverses Arbitration Agreement Denial In Injury Suit

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division on March 30 reversed a trial court’s ruling denying reconsideration of a motion to compel arbitration in an injury lawsuit against a trampoline park and its franchisor and remanded the case for arbitration, noting the state high court’s reversal of an earlier opinion on which the trial court had relied and holding that the unavailability of the arbiter specified in the arbitration provision does not make the provision unenforceable.
March 30, 2021
Illinois Federal Judge Dismisses Putative Class Action On Planet Fitness Fees

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge on March 26 dismissed all claims against Planet Fitness Inc. and related entities in a putative class action case alleging that the chain unlawfully charged membership fees while restricting access during the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling that one named plaintiff was subject to an arbitration provision within a membership agreement and that the other named plaintiff’s membership agreement was with a party that could not be joined to the action.
March 30, 2021
Federal Judge Allows Dealerships’ Suit Against GM To Proceed, Minus Race Bias Claims

DETROIT — A Michigan federal judge on March 26 upheld claims against General Motors LLC (GM) brought by two dealerships under a federal antitrust law and a federal law protecting automobile dealership franchises from manufacturers’ bad faith actions. But she agreed to dismiss the remaining claims, including allegations of racial discrimination over the application of a family discount program for GM employees and former employees.
March 26, 2021
Subway Franchisee Agrees To $28,700 Settlement In EEOC Bias Suit

INDIANAPOLIS — A Bloomington, Ind., Subway franchisee will pay $28,700 to end a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a federal court in Indiana after the sandwich shop allegedly rejected a hard-of-hearing job applicant due to his hearing and speech impairments, the EEOC announced March 25.
March 26, 2021
9th Circuit Denies Rehearing In Franchisee Misclassification Appeal

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 25 denied a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc filed by a cleaning company franchisor after the appellate court issued an amended opinion on Feb. 2 vacating a summary judgment ruling for the franchisor and remanding for the district court to consider whether the janitors are employees under the Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court standard in the first instance.
March 26, 2021
McDonald’s Granted Judgment In Cybersquatting Suit Over Use Of ‘McD’ Domains

SEATTLE — A man who registered several internet domains incorporating McDonald’s Corp.'s valid “McD” trademark, did so with a bad faith intend to profit by seeking to obtain payment from the fast food chain in exchange for his delivery of misdirected emails, a Washington federal judge ruled on March 23, granting summary judgment to McDonald’s on its cybersquatting counterclaim against the man.
March 25, 2021
6th Circuit Told Fairness Act Applies To Foreign Dealers And Arbitrability

CINCINNATI — A Kuwaiti car dealer in a March 22 appellant brief urges the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to find that the Motor Vehicle Franchise Contract Arbitration Fairness Act (the Fairness Act) applies to foreign dealers and that a district court reversibly erred by ordering it to arbitrate breach of contract claims against Ford Motor Co. rather than first evaluating the claims’ arbitrability.
March 22, 2021
McDonald’s, Franchisees Permitted To Intervene In Joint Employment Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 19 granted motions for leave to intervene filed by the franchisor and franchisees in an appeal by two unions seeking review of the National Labor Relations Board’s orders in a joint employment dispute.
March 22, 2021
U.S. High Court Won’t Hear Franchisees’ Arbitration Delegation Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 22 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by two commercial cleaning business franchisees seeking resolution of a circuit split and a decision on whether a passing reference to a set of arbitration rules constitutes “clear and unmistakable” intent to delegate arbitrability issues to an arbitrator, rather than a court.
March 22, 2021
New York Justice: Motion To Vacate Injury Case Summary Judgment Lacks Merit

BRONX, N.Y. — A New York state court justice on Feb. 26 denied a motion to vacate a summary judgment upon default in favor of Dunkin' Donuts Franchising LLC, ruling that the action in a case alleging personal injuries from a fall in a driveway used by several businesses lacked merit against Dunkin'.
March 19, 2021
Federal Judge Dismisses Franchise Owners’ $41M Coronavirus Coverage Suit

NEWARK, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey on March 17 granted an insurer’s motion to dismiss a breach of contract lawsuit brought by the owners of more than 120 franchise locations under the brands Wendy's, T.G.I. Friday's, Marriott and Hilton, finding that the insureds’ “general statements that the COVID-19 virus was on surfaces and in the air at their properties is insufficient to show property loss or damage.”
March 18, 2021
New Jersey Federal Judge Enters Default Judgment Against Franchisee In Breach Case

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge on March 10 granted a motion for default judgment against a franchisee and its two individual members that did not respond to a lodging franchisor’s lawsuit, ordering them to pay $151,846.25 on claims that they breached their franchise agreement and the members’ guaranty by selling a hotel to a third party without prior consent and failing to pay liquidated damages and recurring fees.
March 18, 2021
McDonald’s Seeks To Strike Class, Dismiss Race Bias Claims By Franchisees

CHICAGO — A fast food franchisor filed replies on March 8 in a federal court in Illinois supporting its motions to dismiss a racial discrimination action and to strike proposed class claims brought by two Black franchisees, arguing that the plaintiffs have failed to show intentional discrimination or that there was a nationwide conspiracy.
March 18, 2021
Federal Judge: Arby’s Failure To Provide Braille Gift Cards Not An ADA Violation

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on March 8 dismissed with prejudice a blind man’s proposed class action alleging that the Arby’s fast food franchisor violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as state and local laws, for failing to provide gift cards in Braille.
March 18, 2021
Class Claims Over 2020 Marriott Data Breach Dismissed With Prejudice

GREENBELT, Md. — Two customers of Marriott International Inc. failed to allege facts establishing that injuries they experienced were fairly traceable to the hotel chain’s 2020 data breach, a Maryland federal judge ruled March 3, granting Marriott’s motion to dismiss their negligence and unfair competition claims for lack of standing.
March 17, 2021
Domino’s Argues For Stay Pending Appeal Of Arbitration Denial In Putative Class Suit

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A pizza company argues in a March 15 brief that a case involving a putative class complaint over truck drivers’ cell phone expenses should be stayed pending appeal of the denial of its motion to compel arbitration because the appeal raises a “substantial issue . . . of first impression.”
March 17, 2021
Federal Judge Excludes Former Employee’s Expert Report In Suit Over No-Poach Clause

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — On Feb. 24, the parties in a proposed class action over a sandwich chain franchisor’s contractual no-poach agreement filed a redacted version of an Illinois federal judge’s sealed decision to exclude a former employee’s expert report as methodologically flawed and admit two expert reports for the franchisor.
March 17, 2021
Title III ADA Claim Moot After Plaintiff’s Death, New York Federal Judge Rules

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Following the death of the plaintiff in a putative class action disability access suit that was filed shortly before his death, a New York federal judge on March 9 rejected requests to stay the case so that an estate representative could be substituted in or a new plaintiff found to appear as class representative, dismissing an alleged violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claim as moot and noting that “successful class certification motions in this Circuit in cases like this are few and far between.”
March 16, 2021
Federal Judge Allows Sex Trafficking Coverage Suit To Proceed But Stays Discovery

ATLANTA — A federal judge in Georgia on March 15 refused to dismiss an insurer’s lawsuit seeking to rescind a liability insurance policy and a declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnity the owner, operator and franchisors of a Marietta, Ga., hotel against underlying sex trafficking claims but stayed discovery to see how prosecution of the underlying action proceeds.
March 16, 2021
EEOC Sues IHOP Franchisee For Manager’s Alleged Harassment Of Workers

BALTIMORE — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint on March 15 in a Maryland federal court accusing the owners of 12 IHOP franchises of subjecting female employees, including teenagers, to sexual harassment by the general manager of its Frederick, Md., location.
March 12, 2021
Federal Judge: Childcare Franchise May Be Liable In Wrongful Death Suit

GALVESTON, Texas — A Texas federal judge on March 10 denied a motion for summary judgment in a wrongful death suit, finding that “a broad contractual right to control operative details” exposed a childcare center franchisor to vicarious liability for a franchisee’s alleged negligence.
March 11, 2021
Policy Requires Final Judgment Or Settlement Before Suit, Panel Affirms

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 9 affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of an equipment rental company insured’s bad faith failure-to-settle lawsuit against its insurer, noting that the Georgia Supreme Court has interpreted nearly identical policy language as requiring a final underlying judgment or settlement before a party can bring a coverage suit.
March 11, 2021
Franchisor Awarded Fees, Damages, As Sanction In Trademark Dispute

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A federal judge in Tennessee on March 10 found that the disgorged profits framework established in the Lanham Act can serve as the basis for an award of damages as a sanction for violation of an injunction, even without a first finding of liability under the statute.
March 11, 2021
Federal Judge Certifies In Part Wage And Hour Class Claims By Tool Maker Franchisee

SAN FRANCISCO — A California judge on Feb. 21 granted in part and denied in part a motion for class certification brought by a franchisee and distributor for a professional-grade mechanics tools manufacturer on wage and hour claims. The judge certified claims for employment misclassification and reimbursement and declined to certify claims regarding overtime, meal and rest breaks and wage deduction claims.