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

Mealey's Franchise

April 19, 2023
9th Circuit Denies Burger Chain’s Petition For Rehearing In COVID-19 Coverage Suit

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 18 unanimously denied In-N-Out Burgers’ petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc challenging its March 10 ruling that affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of its breach of contract lawsuit against its commercial property insurer seeking business interruption coverage for its coronavirus losses.
April 14, 2023
McDonald’s Granted Protective Order In AI Voiceprint Class Lawsuit

CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on April 13 granted a motion for a protective order sought by McDonald’s Corp. in a putative class complaint alleging that the franchisor violates Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by collecting voiceprints to place drive-through orders.
April 11, 2023
Hooters Franchisee Reaches Settlement With DOJ In Immigration Bias Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Florida-based franchisee will pay a civil penalty and provide back pay and training to settle claims by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that it violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against a non-U.S. citizen when checking her permission to work in the United States, the DOJ announced April 10.
March 31, 2023
Penalty Wages Portion Of Verdict Corrected; Jack In The Box’s Other Motions Denied

PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge in Oregon on March 30 granted one of three motions filed by Jack in the Box Inc. following an October verdict awarding a class more than $5.3 million in a wage dispute, agreeing that penalty wages of $1,908 for a worker who previously settled should not have been included in the class award and that the penalty wages for the named plaintiffs needed to be reduced to account for the finding that there were no improper shoe deductions taken.
March 31, 2023
Massachusetts’ Amicus Brief Supports Franchisees In Misclassification Appeal

BOSTON — Massachusetts filed an amicus curiae brief in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals supporting 7-Eleven Inc. franchisees who are seeking reversal of a summary judgment ruling for the franchisor in their lawsuit alleging misclassification and related wage claims.
March 27, 2023
Burger Chain Asks 9th Circuit To Rehear No Coverage Ruling For Coronavirus Losses

PASADENA, Calif. — In-N-Out Burgers filed a petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc challenging the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ March 10 ruling that affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of its breach of contract lawsuit against its commercial property insurer, arguing that the Ninth Circuit should correct or withdraw its ruling and stay the appeal pending the California Supreme Court’s answer to the Ninth Circuit’s certified question in Another Planet Entertainment, LLC v. Vigilant Ins. Co. to determine whether “the actual or potential presence of the COVID-19 virus on an insured's premises” constitutes “direct physical loss or damage to property” to trigger coverage under an insured’s commercial property insurance policy.
March 13, 2023
Panel: Contamination Exclusion Bars Burger Chain’s Coverage For Coronavirus Losses

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on March 10 affirmed dismissal of In-N-Out Burgers’ breach of contract lawsuit against its commercial property insurer, finding that a policy’s contamination exclusion barred coverage for the insured’s losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
March 01, 2023
Reinsurance Commutation Figures In Franchisee’s Negligence, Fraud Action

JACKSON, Miss. — Alleging negligence, fraud and breach of fiduciary duties in connection with “a corporate insurance and risk management program promoted, created, and put in place by Defendants for Domino’s Pizza franchisees,” a franchisee sued a corporation, a limited liability company and the two individuals who are members of the latter in a Mississippi federal court.
March 01, 2023
California Federal Judge Won’t Enjoin Franchisees From Trademark Use

LOS ANGELES — A bid by a franchisor for an ex parte temporary restraining order (TRO) barring its former franchisees from using the “LeanFeast” trademark was denied by a federal judge in California, who said evidence of irreparable harm is lacking.
March 01, 2023
Panel: No Triable Issue That COVID-19 In Hotel Caused Insured’s Alleged Lost Income

SAN DIEGO — A California appeals court panel affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of a commercial insurer in a breach of contract and bad faith lawsuit brought by the owner and operator of a 126-room Holiday Inn Express franchise in San Diego, finding that “there is no evidence creating a triable issue that COVID-19 in the hotel caused the claimed lost income.”
February 21, 2023
Franchisee Tells 6th Circuit Approximation Of Drivers’ Expenses Is Appropriate

CINCINNATI — The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals should affirm a trial court’s ruling finding that a Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulation concerning an employer’s accounting for worker-provided supplies allows for “reasonable approximation” of vehicle-related expenses incurred by delivery drivers, a Domino’s Pizza franchisee argues in its appellee brief.
February 03, 2023
EEOC Complaint Accuses Domino’s Franchise Of Race-Based Harassment

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Domino’s Pizza franchisee in Olean, N.Y., violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by subjecting Black workers to mistreatment by managers, including the regular use of racial slurs and threats, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges in a complaint filed Feb. 2 in a federal court in New York.
January 23, 2023
Insured Failed To Provide Timely Notice Of Deadly Shooting, CGL Insurer Argues

NEWNAN, Ga. — A commercial general liability insurer filed a declaratory judgment lawsuit in a federal court in Georgia challenging coverage for a wrongful death/premises liability lawsuit brought against a Quality Inn & Suites, arguing that the insured failed to provide timely notice of the shooting that prompted the underlying action.
January 09, 2023
7-Eleven’s Claims For Attorney Fees Denied In Franchisee Classification Dispute

BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts allowed a cross-motion for summary judgment by 7-Eleven Inc. franchisees on counterclaims and third-party claims of breach of contract and indemnity by the franchisor in a dispute over the proper classification for the franchisees.
January 09, 2023
McDonald’s Franchisee Settles EEOC Sex Harassment Suit For Nearly $2 Million

LAS VEGAS — A nearly $2 million settlement in a sexual harassment lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to be paid by the owners of more than a dozen McDonald’s franchised restaurants was approved by a federal judge in Nevada.
December 14, 2022
9th Circuit: 7-Eleven Franchisees Properly Deemed Independent Contractors

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s determination in two putative class lawsuits that 7-Eleven franchisees are independent contractors and not employees, ruling that while the court erred in refusing to consider claims accrued after 2020 under the “ABC test” adopted in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, the “error was harmless.”
December 12, 2022
Deadline Set For Renewed Settlement Motion In Marriott Wage Suit

LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California ordered the lead plaintiff in a wage-and-hour case against Marriott International Inc. to file a renewed motion for preliminary approval of a class settlement by Dec. 28 after the employee refiled his previously dismissed class claims.
December 05, 2022
Pizza Delivery Driver Appeals Ruling Allowing Approximation Of Expenses

CINCINNATI — A trial court erred when it concluded that a Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulation concerning an employer’s accounting for worker provided supplies is ambiguous but allows for “reasonable approximation” through other incorporated regulations as those other regulations were not actually incorporated, a pizza delivery driver argues in an appellant brief filed in his interlocutory appeal in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
December 01, 2022
TGI Friday’s Dismissed From Class Suit Over Labeling On Licensed Snack Sticks

CHICAGO — A restaurant franchisor that licenses its logo to a company that packs and distributes snack sticks at the center of a putative class complaint over the labeling was dismissed as a defendant after a federal judge in Illinois ruled that the franchisor wasn’t shown to be liable; however, the judge denied requests by the defendants to strike the proposed nationwide class and to dismiss two of the three claims being made.
November 29, 2022
EEOC Announces Circle K Will Pay $8M To Settle Bias, Retaliation Charges

PHOENIX — Circle K Stores Inc. will pay $8 million to resolve multiple charges of discrimination and retaliation filed against it and related entities by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency announced Nov. 29.
November 17, 2022
Panel: Restaurant Owner’s Claimed Losses Did Not Involve Tangible Change To Property

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 17 affirmed a lower federal court’s judgment in favor of a commercial insurer in its lawsuit disputing coverage for the owner and operator of a network of nearly 80 restaurants throughout the country, finding that the insured failed to identify direct physical loss of or damage to its property to trigger coverage for business losses arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
November 17, 2022
$2.35M Dickey’s Barbecue Data Breach Class Settlement Preliminarily Approved

DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas adopted a magistrate judge’s findings and recommendations and preliminarily approved a $2.35 million all-cash, nonreversionary settlement by Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. to end several consolidated data breach class complaints.
November 15, 2022
9th Circuit: Jan-Pro Can’t Appeal Franchisees’ Class Cert In Classification Case

SAN FRANCISCO — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition by a cleaning service franchisor seeking permission to appeal a class certification order in a lawsuit by franchisees alleging misclassification as contractors.
November 07, 2022
Planet Fitness Pays Former CFO After Interest On Verdict Recalculated

SALEM, Mass. — The owner and operator of Planet Fitness health clubs, its franchisor subsidiary and executives satisfied the multimillion dollar judgment in a fraud lawsuit brought by the former chief financial officer (CFO), according to a docket entry in a Massachusetts court.
November 03, 2022
4th Circuit: No Coverage For Anytime Fitness Franchise Owners’ COVID-19 Losses

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 2 affirmed a Virginia federal court’s dismissal of a group of Anytime Fitness franchise owners’ amended class complaint seeking coverage for the negative impact on their businesses caused by government shutdown orders issued in response to the coronavirus pandemic.