Janet Sparks reports at BlueMauMau that the National Franchisee Association, representing over 90 percent of all Burger King franchisees in the US, has settled two class action lawsuits with franchisor Burger King Corp. (NYSE: BKC) and its two soft drink distributors, Coca Cola and Dr Pepper.
David Farkas writes in Chain Leader that attorney J. Michael Dady claims that restaurant chain discounting ruins franchisees’ profits and insists more disclosure would keep franchisors honest.
Ron Ruggless of Nation’s Restaurant News reports that after encountering fierce pushback from franchisees over its $1 double cheeseburger promotion, Burger King said it would raise the item’s price and introduce a new value sandwich in its place.
Sarah Gilbert at WallePop.com that in the second legal challenge to a Starbucks store’s fair treatment last week, a Florida man is suing the Starbucks on Powerline Road west of Boca Raton. Robert Friedman suffers from Tourette’s syndrome, a genetic disorder which is characterized by uncontrollable outbursts, often laced with obscenities. Last year, he was visiting the Starbucks and suffered from such a flare-up; customers said he banged on the wall and shouted curse words.
Carmen D. Caruso, a nationally known franchisee trial lawyer and a DDIFO Sponsor, re-locates his practice in “The Chambers” — a dynamic suite of trial lawyers in downtown Chicago who operate on a “lean and mean” platform backed up with the best litigation technology and who prepare their cases for trial in a state-of-the-art mock trial courtroom.
Numbers tell a different story of whether a Burger King’s burger promotion helped boost profits. Franchisees say the promotion doesn’t drive enough sales to offset cost.
Jon Chesto reports in The Patriot Ledger that Dunkin’ Donuts is serving up a termination notice and federal lawsuit against a franchisee after the Canton-based company said he helped his wife open a rival restaurant in Boston.
Ron Ruggless of Nation’s Restaurant News writes that decisions in franchise-related law in 2009 produced new frameworks under which franchisors and franchisees will be doing business in the year ahead, and beyond.
Katie Mulvaney of the Providence Journal reports that Irwin Barkan claimed Dunkin’ Donuts set up his downtown Providence franchises to fail, an allegation dismissed by a federal court judge. The federal judge threw out a Vermont businessman’s suit accusing Dunkin’ Donuts of knowingly setting up his franchises to fail, finding there was no evidence the coffee shop chain contributed to his financial losses.