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

Mealey's Franchise

March 22, 2024
Commission Case Parties Asked If Arbitration Motions Remain Live After Settlement

CHICAGO — Parties in a class lawsuit over broker commissions were asked March 21 by a federal judge in Illinois to address whether several pending motions for arbitration filed by real estate franchisors remain live after the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced nearly a week earlier that it would resolve nationwide claims for $418 million.
March 21, 2024
6th Circuit Vacates, Remands 2 Pizza Delivery Driver Suits On Calculating Costs

CINCINNATI — A trial court that found that pizza delivery drivers should be reimbursed for their costs using a mileage rate published by the IRS and a trial court that found in a different case that pizza delivery drivers’ employers could reimburse drivers for their costs with a “reasonable approximation” both erred, a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, vacating both decisions and remanding for the courts to consider the appropriate regime to use given the difficulty of proof.
March 19, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court Denies McDonald’s Petition In No-Poach Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 18 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by McDonald’s USA LLC and McDonald’s Corp. (together, McDonald’s) after a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held that the no longer enforced no-hire agreement between the fast food franchisor and its franchisees might violate antitrust laws.
March 06, 2024
English Justice Denies Summary Judgment As To Coverage Issue In COVID-19 Suit

LONDON — A justice of the High Court of England and Wales denied summary judgment to two restaurant chains on the issue of coverage for their business interruption losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic but granted summary judgment and permission to appeal the policy construction issue.
March 05, 2024
Franchisees Seek Final Approval Of $30M Classification Settlement With Jan-Pro

SAN FRANCISCO — California cleaning franchisees who sued Jan-Pro Franchising International Inc. alleging misclassification as independent contractors filed a motion in a federal court in California seeking final approval of a class settlement under which the franchisor will pay $30 million and make changes to its business practices.
February 28, 2024
Judge: SBA Properly Denied Loan Forgiveness To PPP Borrower Not Initially Eligible

AMARILLO, Texas — In a lawsuit brought by a truck dealer against the federal government challenging the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) determination that the dealer was not initially eligible for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and thus ineligible for loan forgiveness, a Texas federal judge on Feb. 27 denied the dealer’s motion to alter or amend his opinion upholding the SBA’s decisions, ruling that the SBA’s loan review process “protects taxpayers from footing the bill for loans issued to ineligible parties” and that the SBA was authorized to enact that process.
February 26, 2024
Claims, Defendants Partially Dismissed In Homebuyers’ Commission Class Case

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois partially granted motions to dismiss filed by a real estate brokers trade association and real estate franchisors in a putative class complaint by homebuyers who accuse the defendants of conspiring over commission rates, resulting in homebuyers paying artificially inflated prices for residential real estate because a portion of the supracompetitive rates is incorporated into the sales price of homes.
February 15, 2024
Bid For Reconsideration On Third-Party Implied Indemnity Claim Is Disputed

JACKSON, Miss. — Domino’s Pizza LLC and related entities are seeking reconsideration of a ruling that a third-party claim for implied indemnity survives dismissal in a dispute involving a franchisee and commutation of reinsurance, and in an opposition brief, third-party plaintiffs tell a Mississippi federal court that this case differs from two the Domino’s entities cited.
February 14, 2024
Reconsideration Of Partial Dismissal Of Website Data Collection Claims Sought

SAN DIEGO — Papa John’s International Inc. filed a motion for reconsideration in a federal court in California after a judge partially granted its motion to dismiss a putative class complaint alleging violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) through the alleged interception and collection of users’ data on a pizza-ordering webpage, in light of the ruling in Briskin v. Shopify.
February 14, 2024
Real Estate Broker Franchisor Asks High Court To Decide Who Decides Arbitrability

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A real estate franchisor sued as part of an antitrust class action by home sellers over commission rules filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court asking the justices to decide whether a court or an arbitrator should decide a question of arbitrability.
February 12, 2024
McDonald’s Workers Say U.S. High Court Need Not Weigh In On No-Poach Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision holding that the no longer enforced no-hire agreement between a fast food franchisor and its franchisees might violate antitrust laws is “unremarkable” and “does not merit” review by the U.S. Supreme Court, McDonald’s workers argue in a Feb. 9 opposition to a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by McDonald’s USA LLC and McDonald’s Corp. (together, McDonald’s).
February 05, 2024
Keller Williams’ $70M Pact In Sellers’ Commissions Case Preliminarily Approved

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A $70 million settlement proposed by Keller Williams Realty Inc. in a class case by home sellers in which a federal jury in Missouri found that the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and real estate franchisors engaged in a commission conspiracy in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act was granted preliminary approval by a federal judge in Missouri; on the same day, a joint motion to stay in light of the settlement was filed in a parallel action in a federal court in Illinois.
January 29, 2024
Burger King Franchisee Seeks Coverage For Suit Alleging BIPA Violations

CHICAGO — A franchisee of the Burger King chain sued its umbrella insurer in Illinois federal court for breach of contract, seeking a declaration that the insurer has a duty to defend it against an underlying putative class lawsuit alleging that it violated the Illinois Biometric Information Protection Act (BIPA).
January 29, 2024
7-Eleven To Mass. High Court: Franchisees Don’t Perform Services For Franchisor

BOSTON — Addressing the most recent question certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court by the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an employment classification case, 7-Eleven Inc. argues in its brief that its franchisees do not trigger the Massachusetts test for independent contractor misclassification, also known as the “ABC” test, as their contractual obligations, including paying a percentage of their profit to the franchisor, do not constitute “services” under that test.
January 25, 2024
Judge Rejects Pizza Chain’s Bid To Ditch Third-Party Implied Indemnity Claim

JACKSON, Miss. — A third-party “claim for implied indemnity” against Domino’s Pizza LLC and related entities remains after a Mississippi federal judge otherwise dismissed a third-party complaint in the dispute involving a franchisee and commutation of reinsurance.
January 23, 2024
Federal Judge Refuses To Dismiss 7-Eleven’s Bodily Injury Coverage Lawsuit

MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida denied insurers’ motion to dismiss a 7-Eleven store’s declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking general liability and liquor liability coverage for a customer’s underlying bodily injury action alleging that a 7-Eleven employee physically struck him numerous times, concluding that the insured has adequately pleaded “a bona fide dispute” to survive dismissal.
January 18, 2024
Partial Dismissal Granted In Class Suit Over Papa John’s Website Data Collection

SAN DIEGO — A federal judge in California partially granted a pizza franchisor’s motion to dismiss a putative class complaint alleging violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) through the alleged interception and collection of users’ data on a pizza ordering webpage, finding that the lead plaintiff failed to show that there were telephone communications at issue or that there was an imminent threat of harm in the future.
January 11, 2024
PPP Borrower Denied Loan Forgiveness Claims Error By Court, Seeks Reconsideration

AMARILLO, Texas — In a lawsuit brought by a truck dealer against the federal government challenging the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) determination that the dealer was not initially eligible for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and thus ineligible for loan forgiveness, the dealer moved a Texas federal court to alter or amend its opinion and resulting judgment granting the SBA’s cross-motion for summary judgment, contending that the court misapplied established principles of administrative law and statutory interpretation.
January 10, 2024
2nd Circuit: New York City’s Wrongful Discharge Law Isn’t Preempted By Federal Law

NEW YORK — New York City’s Wrongful Discharge Law, which protects fast-food workers from arbitrary firings and reduced hours, is not preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) or unconstitutional, as argued by two restaurant groups, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, affirming a trial court decision.
January 04, 2024
P.F. Chang’s Coverage For COVID-19 Losses Limited To $1M, California Panel Affirms

LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court on Jan. 3 concluded that P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc.’s insurance policy language “clearly and unambiguously” provided only $1 million in coverage for its losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic, affirming a lower court’s ruling granting summary adjudication in favor of the insurer.
January 03, 2024
Domino’s Truck Drivers Urge High Court Denial Of FAA Exemption Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Domino’s Pizza LLC truck drivers (D&S drivers), found by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to be exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in their class case alleging unreimbursed business expenses and violation of California’s unfair competition law, filed a response brief, after initially waiving their right and then being asked to file one, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny Domino’s petition for a writ of certiorari.
January 02, 2024
Trade Group, Policy Center Support McDonald’s Petition In No-Poach Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should grant certiorari to a fast food franchisor seeking a ruling on the appropriate analysis for Sherman Act claims regarding intrabrand hiring restraints, a nonprofit research and policy center and a trade group argue in separate amicus curiae briefs.
December 18, 2023
Global Settlement Resolving Reinsurance Collateral Row Wins Approval

ST. LOUIS — A global settlement agreement involving limited liability companies that owned and operated dozens of Jack in the Box restaurants under franchise agreements has been approved and related requests granted in a federal bankruptcy court in Missouri.
December 13, 2023
Judge: SBA Had Authority To Determine Borrower Was Never Eligible For PPP Loan

AMARILLO, Texas — In a lawsuit brought by a truck dealer against the federal government challenging the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) determination that the dealer was not initially eligible for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and thus ineligible for loan forgiveness, a Texas federal judge on Dec. 12 granted the government’s cross-motion for summary judgment and denied the dealer’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the SBA did not exceed its statutory authority or act arbitrarily or capriciously in refusing loan forgiveness based on later-determined loan eligibility.
December 06, 2023
Preliminary Approval Granted To Jan-Pro $30M Worker Classification Settlement

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Dec. 5 granted preliminary approval of a class settlement in a worker classification suit under which Jan-Pro Franchising International Inc. will pay $30 million and make changes to its business practices that will benefit California franchisees.