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Apr 15, 2024 | 
jdsupra.com | Kevin Graff |Frank Sciremammano
A federal court in California recently granted partial summary judgment in favor of a distributor of wine corks for breach of an exclusivity provision following the supplier’s sale of certain corks in the United States. M.A. Silva Corks USA, LLC v. M.A. Silva Holdings, Inc., 2024 WL 1180999 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 18, 2024). The parties entered into a supplier and distribution agreement under which Corks USA was the exclusive distributor and marketer for Corticas corks in the United States.
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Feb 16, 2024 | 
jdsupra.com | Cassie Doutt |Frank Sciremammano
A federal court in Illinois recently granted partial summary judgment to LMLC Franchising, LLC (LMLC-F), LMLC Management, LLC (LMLC-M), and Todd Barnhardt on claims brought by John Doe and Aylin & Ramtin, LLC (A&R) for breach of fiduciary duty and violating the Illinois Franchise Disclosure Act (IFDA), among others. Aylin & Ramtin, LLC v. Barnhardt, 2024 WL 325384 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 29, 2024). Doe set up A&R to own and invest in two Little Minds Learning Centers.
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Jan 19, 2024 | 
jdsupra.com | Rachel O'Connor |Frank Sciremammano
A federal court in Maryland recently granted a motion for class certification by consumers who brought negligence, breach of contract, and consumer protection claims against hotel franchisor Marriott International and data security company Accenture. In re Marriott Int'l Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., 2023 WL 8247865 (D. Md. Nov. 29, 2023). The consumers’ claims arose from a data breach in which hackers gained access to the consumers' personal information from a guest information database.
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Dec 8, 2023 | 
jdsupra.com | Frank Sciremammano
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Oct 10, 2023 | 
jdsupra.com | Rachel O'Connor |Frank Sciremammano
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the enforcement of a jury trial waiver against a franchisee. Pizza Hut L.L.C. v. Pandya, 79 F.4th 535 (5th Cir. Aug. 22, 2023). Pizza Hut originally filed suit against franchisee Jignesh Pandya and his entities, alleging various breach of contract and intellectual property claims. Pandya counterclaimed, alleging breach of contract and various tort claims, and later demanded a jury trial.
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Oct 5, 2023 | 
lathropgpm.com | Frank Sciremammano |Rachel O'Connor |Allyson Cunningham |Shlomo Hahn
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the enforcement of a jury trial waiver against a franchisee. Pizza Hut L.L.C. v. Pandya, 79 F.4th 535 (5th Cir. Aug. 22, 2023). Pizza Hut originally filed suit against franchisee Jignesh Pandya and his entities, alleging various breach of contract and intellectual property claims. Pandya counterclaimed, alleging breach of contract and various tort claims, and later demanded a jury trial.
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Aug 11, 2023 | 
jdsupra.com | Kevin Graff |Frank Sciremammano
The California Court of Appeals for the Second District, creating a split of authority among California’s appellate courts, held that Ford Motor Co. did not have the right to enforce an arbitration provision in a sales contract between its dealership and a downstream purchaser. Montemayor v. Ford Motor Co., 92 Cal. App. 5th 958 (2023).
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Jun 9, 2023 | 
jdsupra.com | Frank Sciremammano
[co-author: Lauryn Masters]A federal court in Ohio recently denied in part a franchisor’s motion for summary judgment related to a dispute over the renewal of two area representative agreements. KAM Dev., LLC v. Marco’s Franchising, LLC, 2023 WL 3251216 (N.D. Ohio May 4, 2023). Marco’s Franchising entered into two area representative agreements with KAM Development.
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Apr 6, 2023 | 
jdsupra.com | Rachel O'Connor |Frank Sciremammano
A federal court in Tennessee denied a manufacturer’s motion to dismiss claims that it acted in bad faith and constructively terminated a dealership when it denied the dealer’s proposed relocation sites. Hyundai Subaru of Nashville v. Hyundai Motor Am., 2023 WL 2201015 (M.D. Tenn. Feb. 24, 2023). A Nashville Hyundai dealer alleged that Hyundai improperly refused to approve its relocation because of policies aimed at keeping Hyundai dealerships out of African American neighborhoods.
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Mar 10, 2023 | 
jdsupra.com | Frank Sciremammano |Kristin Stock
A federal court in Ohio recently declined to dismiss a franchisee’s claims of breach of contract, rejecting the franchisor’s argument that the claims were barred by general releases included in the parties’ agreement. SC Am. v. Marco’s Franchising, 2023 WL 2229654 (N.D. Ohio Feb. 23, 2023). When the franchise agreement for SCA’s pizza restaurant was nearing expiration, Marco’s told SCA it would only renew the agreement if SCA remedied its operational shortcomings.
