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

Mealey's Franchise

June 07, 2022
Panel: No Coverage For Planet Fitness Franchisees’ Losses Arising From Coronavirus

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 2 affirmed a lower federal court’s grant of judgment on the pleadings in favor of a commercial property insurer in a coronavirus coverage dispute, finding that the losses incurred by the owners and operators of four Florida Planet Fitness franchise locations did not constitute “direct physical loss of or damage to” their property.
June 01, 2022
DOJ, McDonald’s Franchisee Reach Agreement To End Immigration-Related Bias Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced May 31 that it reached a settlement agreement with a McDonald’s franchisee to resolve claims that the operator of four California restaurants discriminated against non-U.S. citizens when demanding unnecessary documentation.
May 27, 2022
Massage Envy Coupon Settlement Granted Final Approval After 9th Circuit CAFA Ruling

SAN FRANCISCO — A previous award of $2.6 million in attorney fees following a class settlement by a massage and skin care franchisor accused of violating its membership agreement by periodically increasing membership fees was reduced to $938,026.22 in May 24 order by a federal judge in California following a ruling by a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals the settlement was a coupon settlement under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA); the judge deferred the award of any additional fees until after the expiration of the redemption period.
May 25, 2022
Panel: No Coverage For ‘Purely Economic Damages’ Alleged By Restaurant Chain

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 24 affirmed a lower federal court’s ruling that an insured restaurant chain’s claim for loss of business income caused by shutdown orders issued by state governors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is not covered, finding that there is no coverage available “for the type of purely economic damages” the insured sought under the policy.
May 23, 2022
California Federal Judge Denies Injunction In ‘Pinkberry’ Franchise Row

LOS ANGELES — Despite finding that a franchisor demonstrates some likelihood of success on allegations that a former franchisee continues to infringe the “Pinkberry” trademark, a federal judge in California on May 20 denied entry of preliminary injunctive relief in the case.
May 20, 2022
Federal Judge Permits Class Suit Over Texted Ads, Do Not Call Registry To Proceed

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Calling the Federal Communications Commission’s 2003 expansion of private right of action for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to include cell phones “unauthorized,” a federal judge in Florida on May 18 stated that the FCC’s rules and regulations must nonetheless be enforced and declined to dismiss a putative class complaint based on thousands of allegedly unsolicited text message ads for a sandwich shop chain sent to cell phones, some of which were on the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry.
May 10, 2022
EEOC, Subway Franchisee Settle Disability Bias Complaint For $30,000

PHOENIX — A federal judge in Arizona on May 9 approved a consent decree between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a Subway franchisee under which the employer will pay $30,000 and provide other relief, including training, to end a complaint alleging failure to accommodate an employee with autism.
May 09, 2022
1st Circuit Vacates Judgment For 7-Eleven In Franchisees’ Classification Lawsuit

BOSTON — A First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 25 vacated a trial court’s summary judgment ruling for 7-Eleven Inc. in a putative class complaint by franchisees alleging misclassification and remanded for further proceedings in light of a recent ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Court that the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law (ICL) applies to the franchisor-franchisee relationship.
May 04, 2022
$23M Class Settlement Will End 3 Independent Contractor Class, Collective Suits

BANGOR, Maine — A federal judge in Maine issued a corrected order on May 3 granting final approval of a class settlement of just over $23 million ending three complaints accusing Flowers Foods and some of its subsidiaries of misclassifying independent distributors as independent contractors.
April 26, 2022
Employee, Employer In Pandemic Leave Denial Case Stipulate Dismissal

ROANOKE, Va. — An employee who sued his employer after unsuccessfully seeking leave during the coronavirus pandemic to care for his disabled brother on April 10 filed along with the defendant in a federal court in Virginia a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice.
April 26, 2022
Panel Affirms NLRB’s Approval Of Agreements With No Joint Employment Decision

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A divided District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on April 22 ruled that the National Labor Relations Board did not abuse its discretion when it approved multiple settlement agreements with McDonald’s USA and franchisees involving claims of retaliating against workers involved in a nationwide organizing campaign without determining whether McDonald’s is a joint employer with its franchisees.
April 20, 2022
$1.5M McDonald’s Franchisee Class Harassment Settlement Preliminarily Approved

DETROIT — A federal judge in Michigan on April 5 preliminarily approved a $1.5 million settlement in a lawsuit by a class of female employees of a McDonald’s franchisee who claim that they were repeatedly physically and verbally harassed by a manager.
April 13, 2022
Burger King Wraps Whoppers In PFAS-Laced Paper, Man Says In Putative Class Action

SAN FRANCISCO — A plaintiff claims in a putative class action filed on April 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that Burger King Corp. violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other statutes by fraudulently concealing from customers that the packaging for its Whopper burger is made with per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) that he says renders the Whopper “unfit for human consumption.”
April 06, 2022
COMMENTARY: Recent Clarifications To The Federal Arbitration Act With Respect To Jurisdiction For Diversity And Motions To Confirm And Vacate

By Robert M. Hall
April 06, 2022
McDonald’s Franchisee Agrees To $1.5M Settlement In Class Harassment Suit

DETROIT — A class of female workers who sued a McDonald’s franchisee alleging that they were repeatedly physically and verbally harassed by a manager filed a motion in a federal court in Michigan on April 4 seeking preliminary approval of a $1.5 million settlement.
April 05, 2022
1st Circuit Orders Briefing Following Massachusetts High Court Franchise Ruling

BOSTON — The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals entered an order on April 1 for the parties in an appeal concerning the relationship between franchisors and franchisees to show cause why a trial court’s judgment should not be summarily vacated following a ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court holding that the state’s Independent Contractor Law (ICL) applies to such relationships.
March 31, 2022
High Court: FAA Petitions To Confirm Or Vacate Don’t Create Federal Jurisdiction

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Resolving a circuit split, the U.S. Supreme Court on March 31 ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) does not create federal jurisdiction over petitions to confirm or vacate arbitral awards and that courts must have an “independent jurisdictional basis” for addressing such petitions, finding in favor of the former employee of a financial advisory firm and reversing the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
March 28, 2022
Massachusetts High Court: Independent Contractor Law Applies To Franchisors

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law (ICL) applies to the relationship between franchisors and franchisees and does not conflict with the Federal Trade Commission’s Franchise Rule, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled March 24 in response to a question certified by the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
March 24, 2022
EEOC, Popeye’s Franchisee Settle Suit Over Job Offer Rescission, Bias

HAMMOND, Ind. — A federal judge in Indiana on March 22 approved a consent decree between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and an Indiana fast food franchisee accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it rescinded a job offer to an individual with a cognitive disability and failed to provide the individual with the accommodation of having her job coach present during training.
March 21, 2022
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over Franchisee’s Delayed Arbitration Request

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 21 heard arguments in a wage-and-hour dispute between an employee and a franchisee concerning whether a franchisee’s delay in moving for arbitration until after settlement talks failed was actually a waiver.
March 17, 2022
Long John Silver’s Franchise Settles EEOC Harassment Suit For $200,000

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A federal judge in Illinois on March 16 signed a consent decree under which the operator of a Centralia, Ill., Long John Silver’s will pay $200,000 to settle sexual harassment and retaliation claims brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
March 17, 2022
Papa John’s Franchise Settles Drivers’ Class Wage Claims For Undisclosed Amount

LONDON, Ky. — A federal judge in Kentucky on March 7 granted final approval to a collective and class settlement between a Papa John’s franchise and its delivery drivers who sued alleging that insufficient reimbursement rates caused their wages to fall below the minimum wage.
March 11, 2022
Parties Settle Coverage Suit Over Challenge To McDonald’s Handling Of COVID-19

CHICAGO — McDonald’s Corp. and a commercial general liability insurer on March 10 filed a joint notice of settlement in a breach of contract and declaratory relief lawsuit brought by McDonald’s Corp. and former and current franchise owners seeking coverage for an underlying class action injunction alleging that they are taking inadequate steps to contain COVID-19 in the workplace.
March 09, 2022
Soft-Serve Tech Company Sues McDonald’s For Unfairly Tanking Its Business

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware tech company on March 1 filed a lawsuit in Delaware federal court accusing McDonalds Corp. of violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other laws by fabricating false claims about safety hazards that allegedly blocked the tech company from marketing a device that improves the functioning of McDonalds’ soft-serve machines.
March 09, 2022
Citing ‘Clear Abuse Of Discretion,’ Panel Grants Mandamus In Patent Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Texas’ decision denying dismissal or transfer of patent allegations against Volkswagen Group of America Inc. and Hyundai Motor America based upon the existence of independent Volkswagen and Hyundai car dealerships in the Western District of Texas was a clear abuse of discretion, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled March 9.