Franchise Litigation & Arbitration

We represent franchise clients in wide-ranging litigation in state and federal court, as well as in arbitration proceedings and mediations, and have experience with a wide array of claims, including breach of contract, the implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, trademark and copyright infringement, encroachment, registration and disclosure violations and enforcement of system standards.

Reported cases include:

• Massey’s, Inc. v. Moe’s Southwest Grill, LLC, 565 Fed. Appx. 821 (11th Cir. 2014) (reversing the entry of summary judgment against a franchisee’s state law claims arising from alleged kickbacks by the franchise system’s suppliers to its Chief Executive Officer);
• Dunkin Donuts Inc v Kashi Enterprises Inc, 119 F. Supp. 3d 1363 (N.D. Ga. 2000) (granting a franchisor a permanent injunction to remedy the franchisee’s violations of the franchise agreement’s health and safety requirements);
• Discovery Point Franchising Inc v Miller, 234 Ga. App. 68, 505 S.E.2d 822 (1998) (affirming an award of damages to a franchisor for the franchisee’s breach of a franchise agreement and an ancillary promissory note, as well for attorneys’ fees under a contractual prevailing party provision);
• Mamilove, LLC, et al. v. Legacy Academy, Inc., 761 S.E.2d 880 (Ga. Ct. App. 2014) (recognizing the validity of a cause of action under O.C.G.A. § 51-1-6 for violations of the Federal Trade Commission’s Franchise Rule), aff’d in part and rev’d in part, 771 S.E.2d 868 (Ga. 2015); and
• Legacy Academy, Inc. v. JLK, Inc., 765 S.E.2d 472 (Ga. Ct. App. 2014) (affirming judgment against a franchisor for future royalty fees).

We have:

• Obtained and confirmed a multi-million dollar award on behalf of multiple franchisees with claims of fraud arising from the franchisor’s misleading earnings claims;
• Litigated temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction hearings on behalf of franchisees seeking to prevent their franchisors from taking a variety of adverse actions; and
• Halted the termination of a fast causal restaurant franchisee for purported breaches of system standards.

Given the breadth and depth of our experience, we counsel and assist both franchisors and franchisees in due diligence with respect to various transactional matters, particularly the review of franchise disclosure documents.