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

Mealey's Franchise

August 22, 2024
Unspecified Settlement Ends Franchisee’s Suit Involving Reinsurance Commutation

JACKSON, Miss. — Citing an unspecified settlement reached by the remaining parties, a Mississippi federal judge dismissed a case involving a franchisee and commutation of reinsurance.
August 13, 2024
HomeServices’ $250M Real Estate Commissions Settlement Granted Preliminary OK

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge in Missouri granted preliminary approval of a $250 million settlement to be paid by HomeServices of America Inc., BHH Affiliates LLC, Long & Foster Companies Inc. and HSF Affiliates LLC (together, HomeServices) to end claims in a real estate commission class lawsuit in a federal court in Missouri that HomeServices conspired with the National Association of Realtors and other real estate franchises to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions.
August 12, 2024
Reconsideration Of Attorney Fees Denied In Jack In The Box Workers’ Wage Suit

PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge in Oregon denied a motion by Jack in the Box Inc. workers to reconsider an April opinion, which partially granted and partially denied motions for attorney fees and costs by both sides in a wage-and-hour suit brought by a class of workers who saw some success with their claims, and apply a prime rate enhancement, opining that there was no showing of clear error or that the “decision was manifestly unjust.”
August 01, 2024
Slide Designer Failed To Allege That Its Design Patent Was Knowingly Infringed

SANTA ANA, Calif. — In asserting a claim for inducement of design patent infringement against a trampoline and recreational park franchisor, a slide designer failed to allege that the franchisor had actual knowledge that the slides it sold to its franchisees infringed upon the design patent at issue, a California federal judge found in granting the franchisor’s motion to dismiss without prejudice.
July 31, 2024
Judge Denies Insurers’ Motion For Judgment On The Pleadings To Conserve Resources

MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida denied insurers’ motion for judgment on the pleadings to conserve judicial resources in a 7-Eleven store’s declaratory judgment lawsuit seeking general liability and liquor liability coverage for a customer’s underlying bodily injury action alleging that a 7-Eleven employee physically struck him numerous times, finding that it is appropriate to decide only their motion for summary judgment.
July 29, 2024
Court Violated Due Process In Sandwich Shop Arbitration, Canadian Company Says

NEW YORK — A company that served as Canadian agent for the Subway sandwich shop franchise filed a motion in New York federal court to alter or amend a judge’s ruling confirming an arbitrator’s award requiring it to make ongoing payments under a terminated contract pending the outcome of a 70 million Canadian dollars arbitration, arguing that the judge did not give it a chance to respond to the arbitrators’ recent rulings.
July 17, 2024
Franchisee Seeks Rehearing After Manager’s Disability Bias Claims Reinstated

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The operator of a number of Hardee’s restaurants in the Midwest seeks a rehearing en banc after a former manager’s disability bias and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) claims were reinstated by a split panel and asks for the rejection of a new test employed by the panel majority for the pretext prong of the McDonnell-Douglas Corp. v. Green framework that was referred to in the dissenting opinion as an “intertwinement test.”
July 10, 2024
Insurer Disputes Coverage For BIPA Suits Over Food Phone Orders Handled By AI

CHICAGO — A businessowners insurer filed suit in an Illinois federal court seeking a declaratory judgment that it owes no coverage for two underlying putative class action lawsuits alleging that its insured and two franchise restaurants violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) when they used the insured’s voice artificial intelligence technology to handle phone orders from customers.
July 02, 2024
Visa, Mastercard Credit Card Fee Class Settlement Denied Approval By Federal Judge

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York denied preliminary approval of a class settlement in a nearly two-decade-long case over credit card interchange fees, opining that final approval of the agreement between the equitable relief class of merchants and Visa and Mastercard is unlikely based on concerns with the proposed relief for the class.
July 02, 2024
Split 8th Circuit Reinstates Manager’s Claims From Firing After Diabetic Episode

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A fast food restaurant manager may proceed with her disability bias and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) lawsuit, a split Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled July 1, opining in part that a jury may conclude that the manager’s diabetic episode that caused her to miss work for two days without notice “was not independent from her firing” that followed.
June 25, 2024
German Real Estate Company Set To Settle Commissions Conspiracy Class Claims

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Proceedings in one of a number of class complaints by home sellers over commissions were stayed by a federal judge in Missouri as they pertain to a German real estate company and its American subsidiary following a notice of pending settlement.
June 21, 2024
Golden Corral Employees File Consolidated Complaint Over 2023 Data Breach

RALEIGH, N.C. — One month after six lawsuits against Golden Corral Corp. were consolidated in North Carolina federal court, a group of its present and former employees on June 20 filed a consolidated complaint alleging that the restaurant chain acted negligently by not properly protecting their personally identifiable information (PII) from a data breach that they assert could have been avoided if the company had employed proper security measures.
June 14, 2024
N.J. Panel Affirms Ruling In Favor Of Insurer In Suit Brought By Spa Franchise

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appeals panel on June 13 affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a professional liability insurer in a spa franchise insured’s lawsuit seeking coverage for underlying claims that one of its employees perpetuated a sexual act against one of its former customers, concluding that there is no coverage owed because the insured had knowledge about the sexual act before the effective policy date.
June 05, 2024
Objector Appeals Approval Of Commissions Settlements With 3 Real Estate Franchises

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A notice of appeal was filed in a federal court in Missouri by a settlement class member and named plaintiff in two other lawsuits after three class settlements were approved totaling $208.5 million between home sellers and three of the real estate franchises found by a jury to have conspired to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions.
May 30, 2024
Award Terminating Subway Sandwich Shop’s Franchise Contract With Russia Confirmed

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on May 29 confirmed an arbitral award issued after remand in favor of sandwich shop franchise operator Subway International B.V. (SIBV), holding that a franchisor that operated Subway shops in Russia cannot renew its franchise license and that the parties’ agreement was effectively terminated in 2020.
May 30, 2024
Commissions Conspiracy Claims Stayed Against Tenn. Brokerage Due To Pending Pact

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge in Missouri in light of a notice of pending settlement stayed the proceedings against a Tennessee brokerage in a consolidated class case by home sellers accusing the National Association of Realtors (NAR), real estate franchises and brokers of violating the Sherman Act by entering into an agreement to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions.
May 24, 2024
$30M Settlement Between Jan-Pro, Franchisees Granted Final Approval

SAN FRANCISCO — A $30 million wage-and-hour settlement between Jan-Pro Franchising International Inc. and California cleaning franchisees in a case in which the franchisees alleged that they were misclassified was granted final approval on May 23 by a federal judge in California, who also partially granted and partially denied a motion for attorney fees and service awards.
May 23, 2024
6 Golden Corral Data Breach Suits Consolidated In North Carolina Federal Court

RALEIGH, N.C. — Citing “judicial economy” and avoiding “the risk of inconsistent rulings,” a North Carolina federal judge granted a motion to consolidate six putative negligence class actions over a 2023 data breach experienced by Golden Corral Corp., which exposed the personally identifiable information (PII) of the buffet restaurant chain’s employees.
May 22, 2024
On Reconsideration, Judge Dismisses Implied Indemnity Claim Under State Law

JACKSON, Miss. — Granting a motion for reconsideration and dismissing a third-party complaint with prejudice in a dispute involving a franchisee and commutation of reinsurance, a Mississippi federal judge ruled that “[t]he implied indemnity claim necessarily fails under Mississippi law because it does not seek indemnification for passive negligence.”
May 17, 2024
Burger King Franchisee Seeks Summary Judgment In BIPA Violations Coverage Suit

CHICAGO — A franchisee of the Burger King chain moved for summary judgment in its breach of contract lawsuit asking an Illinois federal judge to declare that an excess insurer has a duty to defend it against an underlying putative class lawsuit alleging that it violated the Illinois Biometric Information Protection Act (BIPA).
May 16, 2024
6 Firms Named Co-Lead Class Counsel In Realty Commissions Conspiracy Case

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge in Missouri granted a motion to appoint six law firms as interim co-lead class counsel in a consolidated case by home sellers accusing the National Association of Realtors (NAR), real estate franchises and brokers of violating the Sherman Act by entering into an agreement to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions; the appointment comes on the heels of a notice of a pending settlement filed by one of the defendants, Redfin Corp.
May 14, 2024
Commissions Settlements With 3 Real Estate Franchises Granted Final Approval

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A federal judge in Missouri issued an order granting final approval of three settlements totaling $208.5 million between home sellers and three of the real estate franchises found by a jury to have conspired to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions.
May 01, 2024
Individual Settlement Reached In Papa John’s Website Data Collection Class Suit

SAN DIEGO — A consumer who filed a putative class complaint accusing Papa John’s International Inc. of violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) through the interception and collection of users’ data on a pizza-ordering webpage filed a notice in a federal court in California stating that he reached an individual settlement.
May 01, 2024
California Chick-fil-A Delivery Price Class Suit Dismissed After Settlement In Ga.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Chick-fil-A Inc. and a customer who brought a class complaint over the fast food company’s delivery prices filed a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice in a federal court in California after the claims were resolved as part of a settlement approved by a Georgia court in February; the California case had been stayed pending settlement since October 2022.
April 30, 2024
Compass, Douglas Elliman, Others Agree To Settle Commissions Conspiracy Claims

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Home sellers accusing the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and a number of real estate franchisors and brokers of violating the Sherman Act by entering into an agreement to artificially inflate the cost of commissions in residential real estate transactions filed a motion in a federal court in Missouri on April 29 seeking preliminary approval of an up to $96 million settlement with five of the named defendants.