Last week, we advised that the U.S. District Court gave final approval to a $5.54 billion settlement in the class action lawsuit against VISA, MasterCard and the largest card-issuing banks over card swipe fees and overcharges to businesses since 2004. We also reported that DDIFO is in discussions with Class Action Refunds to possibly provide…
Read More »In mid-December, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted final approval of a $5.54 billion settlement in the lawsuit brought by merchants against VISA, MasterCard and the largest card-issuing banks. The class action lawsuit was initiated on behalf of merchants that accepted VISA or MasterCard since January 1, 2004 and…
Read More »For several years now, businesses have been plagued by litigation alleging violations of the American with Disabilities Act (whether violations existed or not) in order to extract a financial settlement (small enough to be worth settling, but large enough to be a problem) from the business owner. Such lawsuits become known as “drive-by lawsuits”. For…
Read More »Before the ink was even dry on the California Governor’s signature on Assembly Bill 5 (the sweeping worker classification law that codified the Dynamex decision) last week, rideshare company Uber was hit with a class-action suit alleging the company had illegally misclassified its drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The plaintiff’s attorney, Shannon Liss-Riordan…
Read More »The bulk of the news on Dunkin’ this week focused on the name change dropping donuts that was announced in Las Vegas. There are other items to note however. First off, we want to congratulate Dunkin’ franchisee (and current CFA Chairman) John Motta on his reelection last week as the President of the USA Adult…
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You have a lot of people with their eye on your money,” Attorney Christopher Menihan warned franchisees attending the DDIFO National Conference. “If your network happens to get hit, one of these is enough to topple everything you’ve been working for.” Menihan is an associate with Lisa & Sousa, DDIFO’s General Counsel. And, he was…
Read More »By a 5-4 decision released earlier this week, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) confirmed that employers have the right to require employees address grievances through arbitration and not class action litigation. With so many recent frivolous issues being litigated against small business employers recently (butter v. margarine, real blueberries v blueberry filling,…
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From Butter v. Margarine to Blueberry Filling to Wage & Hour With the rapid proliferation of class action lawsuits against small business men and women around the country, it becomes that much more imperative for the franchise owner community to be totally prepared to respond quickly and correctly upon first learning of a possible lawsuit…
Read More »We are very excited about a number of the speakers we have confirmed for the 2018 DDIFO National Conference, being held June 11 & 12 at Harrahs New Orleans Hotel & Casino in New Orleans, Louisiana! We will be announcing the complete program agenda within the next few weeks and it is a great lineup…
Read More »We are aware that numerous Massachusetts Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees have had filed against them civil class action lawsuits involving the alleged use of margarine or other butter substitutes. We further understand that the lawsuits allege Massachusetts franchisees placed margarine or another butter substitute on customers’ baked products when the customer specifically asked for “butter”. We…
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