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

Mealey's Franchise

November 17, 2022
Panel: Restaurant Owner’s Claimed Losses Did Not Involve Tangible Change To Property

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 17 affirmed a lower federal court’s judgment in favor of a commercial insurer in its lawsuit disputing coverage for the owner and operator of a network of nearly 80 restaurants throughout the country, finding that the insured failed to identify direct physical loss of or damage to its property to trigger coverage for business losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
November 17, 2022
$2.35M Dickey’s Barbecue Data Breach Class Settlement Preliminarily Approved

DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas adopted a magistrate judge’s findings and recommendations and preliminarily approved a $2.35 million all-cash, nonreversionary settlement by Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. to end several consolidated data breach class complaints.
November 15, 2022
9th Circuit: Jan-Pro Can’t Appeal Franchisees’ Class Cert In Classification Case

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition by a cleaning service franchisor seeking permission to appeal a class certification order in a lawsuit by franchisees alleging misclassification as contractors.
November 07, 2022
Planet Fitness Pays Former CFO After Interest On Verdict Recalculated

SALEM, Mass. — The owner and operator of Planet Fitness health clubs, its franchisor subsidiary and executives satisfied the multimillion dollar judgment in a fraud lawsuit brought by the former chief financial officer (CFO), according to a docket entry in a Massachusetts court.
November 03, 2022
4th Circuit: No Coverage For Anytime Fitness Franchise Owners’ COVID-19 Losses

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 2 affirmed a Virginia federal court’s dismissal of a group of Anytime Fitness franchise owners’ amended class complaint seeking coverage for the negative impact on their businesses caused by government shutdown orders issued in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
November 03, 2022
$810,000 In Class Settlements Approved In Domino’s Delivery Drivers’ Wage Suit

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two sets of Domino’s Pizza franchise operators agreed in separate settlement agreements approved by a federal judge in Ohio to pay a total of $810,000 to end a class and collective complaint by a delivery driver who claimed that the flat per-delivery reimbursement he and other drivers received resulted wages that did not meet minimum and overtime requirements.
November 01, 2022
Domino’s New England Franchisee Settles Delivery Drivers’ Wage Claims For $250,000

PORTLAND, Maine — A Domino’s franchisee with locations in Maine and Connecticut will pay $250,000 to end collective and class claims by delivery drivers who alleged that they were not sufficiently reimbursed for their own delivery expenses, according to a class settlement agreement approved by a federal judge in Maine.
October 31, 2022
Jury Awards Fast-Food Worker Class, Plaintiffs More Than $5.3M On Wage Claims

PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal jury in Oregon issued a verdict for a class of fast-food workers bringing various wage claims, awarding the class more than $5.3 million on a claim of improper deductions of the Worker’s Benefit Fund (WBF) assessment and thousands in penalty wages for class members who received a late final paycheck after their restaurant was transferred to a franchise operator.
October 24, 2022
Class Settlement Approval Denied In Calif. Wage Case After Class Claims Dismissed

LOS ANGELES — Preliminary approval of a $375,000 class settlement can’t be provided after the lead plaintiff voluntarily dismissed his proposed class claims approximately a year ago, a federal judge in California ruled in a wage-and-hour case brought by an employee against Marriott International Inc.
October 17, 2022
U.S. High Court Vacates, Remands Domino’s Truck Drivers’ Suit Due To Saxon

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 17 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Domino’s Pizza LLC in a case by truck drivers who allege that because the products they transport originate from out of state, they are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) under Section 1 as transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce and remanded to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for further consideration in light of the ruling in Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon.
October 11, 2022
Stay Pending Settlement Granted In Chick-fil-A Delivery Prices Class Suit

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal judge in California stayed a putative class complaint accusing Chick-fil-A Inc. of offering free or low-price delivery while actually charging “hidden fees” by increasing food prices for delivery orders after the parties filed a joint stipulation to stay pending settlement; the joint stipulation was filed the same day the judge denied the fast food company’s request to seal the second amended class complaint.
September 29, 2022
Summary Judgment Ruling For 7-Eleven Issued In Franchise Class Dispute

BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts on Sept. 28 allowed summary judgment in favor of 7-Eleven Inc. in a five-year-long putative class dispute over the classification of franchisees, opining in part that “the mere fact that the parties share economic interest does not imply that [the franchisees] perform services for 7-Eleven.”
September 27, 2022
Florida Jury Finds For Burger King Franchisee In Drive-Through Trip And Fall Case

Jury says plaintiff was an invitee but restaurant did not negligently maintain premises
September 14, 2022
Washington Panel Upholds Arbitration Denial In Domino’s Driver’s Wage Suit

SEATTLE — A Washington appellate panel in an opinion issued Aug. 15 and published Sept. 12 affirmed a trial court’s denial of arbitration in a putative class complaint by a Domino’s Pizza LLC driver alleging wage violations, finding that the delivery and service driver was a transportation worker engaged in interstate commerce and that the arbitration agreement’s class action waiver was “unconscionable.”
September 14, 2022
4th Circuit Refuses To Rehear Golden Corral Franchisor’s COVID-19 Coverage Suit

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 9 denied a petition for rehearing filed by Golden Corral Corp. and Golden Corral Franchising Systems, refusing to disturb its Aug. 11 ruling that affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of the plaintiffs’ bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for their financial losses arising from the suspension of their restaurant operations in response to the government orders prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
September 12, 2022
Domino’s Truck Drivers Tell U.S. High Court They Qualify For FAA Exemption

WASHINGTON, D.C. — There is no dispute in any federal circuits that Domino’s Pizza LLC truck drivers transport products that originate from out of state and are thus exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) under Section 1 as transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce, the drivers argue in their brief filed Sept. 8 in the U.S. Supreme Court, responding to Domino’s petition for a writ of certiorari.
September 07, 2022
Panel Rejects Outback Steakhouse Franchisee’s Appeal In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 2 rejected an appeal by the franchisee of Outback Steakhouse restaurants in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and California and its parent and affiliated companies challenging a lower court’s finding that they have failed to plausibly allege “direct physical loss of or damage to” their property to trigger coverage under the policy in a coronavirus coverage suit.
September 07, 2022
11th Circuit Reinstates Claims Challenging Burger King’s No-Hire Agreement

ATLANTA — A lawsuit by Burger King employees challenging the franchisor’s no-hire agreement with franchisees plausibly alleges violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Aug. 31, likening the agreement to the National Football League (NFL) exclusive-licensing agreement in Am. Needle, Inc. v. Nat’l Football League and reversing dismissal “to the extent that it was based on the ‘concerted action’ element for a Section 1 violation.”
September 06, 2022
Divided NLRB Releases Proposed Joint-Employer Status Standard

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Labor Relations Board on Sept. 6 released a notice of proposed rulemaking on the joint-employer status standard that would rescind the April 2020 joint-employer rule and replace it with a rule the NLRB states would “explicitly ground the joint-employer standard in established common-law agency principles, consistent with Board precedent and guidance that the Board has received from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.”
August 30, 2022
McDonald’s Franchisee Harassment $1.5M Class Settlement Approved

DETROIT — A federal judge in Michigan on Aug. 16 issued two orders granting final approval of a $1.5 million class settlement and granting the requested attorney fees, expenses and $10,000 service awards for each of the named plaintiffs in a lawsuit by female employees of a McDonald’s franchisee who allege physical and verbal harassment by a manager.
August 15, 2022
U.S. High Court Seeks Response In FAA Exemption Appeal Concerning Truck Drivers

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Aug. 10 requested a response to a petition for a writ of certiorari by Domino’s Pizza LLC asking the justices to decide whether truck drivers making in-state deliveries are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) under Section 1 as transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce.
August 12, 2022
4th Circuit Rejects Golden Corral Franchisor’s Appeal In Coronavirus Coverage Suit

RICHMOND, Va. — Finding “no reversible error,” the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 11 affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of an insurer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and dismissal of Golden Corral Corp. and Golden Corral Franchising Systems’ bad faith lawsuit seeking coverage for their financial losses arising from the suspension of their restaurant operations in response to the government orders prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.
August 03, 2022
$1.5 Million Pizza Delivery Drivers’ Expenses Class Settlement Approved

DAYTON, Ohio — A $1.5 million class settlement in a lawsuit accusing a pizza shop franchisee and others of improper reimbursement for delivery drivers’ vehicle expenses was granted final approval by a federal judge in Ohio on Aug. 2.
August 02, 2022
Remaining Plaintiff In Subway Tuna Content Class Suit Files Amended Complaint

OAKLAND, Calif. — The remaining lead plaintiff accusing a sandwich franchisor in a putative class complaint of labeling its tuna salad, sandwiches and wraps as “100% tuna” while failing to prevent adulteration filed an amended class complaint on July 28 in a federal court in California.
August 02, 2022
Following Bench Trial, Florida Federal Judge Says Trademark Not Abandoned

MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida on July 31 awarded a franchisor $271,250 in connection with allegations that a franchisee continued to use the “Navaka” trademark after an implied license between the parties was rescinded.