Franchising & Distribution Law Blog

John Baer and his co-authors, Anders Fernlund - NOVA, Susan Grueneberg - Snell & Wilmer, LLP, and Jane LaFranchi - Marriott International, Inc., discuss the challenges a non-U.S. franchisor will face in entering the U.S. Market in the article, "Taking the Leap: Bringing a Foreign Brand to the United States," published by the International Journal of Franchising Law. Read the article.

On Monday, May 5, 2014, Doug Neville will be presenting, “The Affordable Care Act and Immigration: What Every Franchise Lawyer Needs to Know,” at the 47th Annual IFA Legal Symposium in Chicago, Illinois. Doug and his co-presenters will discuss what affect the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will have on franchisors and franchisees, best practices franchisors and franchisees should follow to comply with, and to reduce liability under the ACA, and how franchisors can help franchisees achieve their immigration objectives.

Also during the IFA Legal Symposium, on Tuesday, May 6, 2014, Beata Krakus will be facilitating a roundtable addressing social media policies in franchising. During the roundtable session entitled, “Social Media Policies in Franchising: Structuring, Protecting the Brands and Enforcing Long Term,” attendees will have the chance to share challenges, questions and solutions surrounding the topic.

Other Greensfelder attorneys attending the 47th Annual IFA Legal Symposium include John Baer, Leonard Vines and Dawn Johnson.

On Friday, April 11, 2014, Dawn Johnson will discuss some of the surprising ways that Big Data has impacted cases and identify strategies for using Big Data to your advantage while avoiding costly pitfalls in her presentation, “Big Data: Opportunities and Challenges in Litigation,” at the American Bar Association Petroleum Marketing Attorneys’ Meeting. Greensfelder is a Platinum sponsor for the event. Other Greensfelder attorneys attending the Petroleum Marketing Attorneys’ Meeting include Dan Garner, David Harris, John Petite and Abby Risner.

In 2010, the United States Supreme Court famously ruled that in cases under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (“PMPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 2801 et seq., a franchisee could not state a claim for constructive termination unless the franchisor’s actions actually caused the franchisee to abandon its franchise. Mac's Shell Service v. Shell Oil Prods. Co., 559 U.S. 175 (2010). Earlier this month, relying on this rule from Mac’s Shell, a federal district court in New Jersey ruled that two urgent care franchisees likewise could not state a claim for constructive termination under the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act where their franchisor’s challenged conduct did not actually cause them to abandon their franchises. See Pai v. DRX Urgent Care, LLC, Nos. 13–4333, 13–3558, 2014 WL 837158 (D. N.J. March 4,2014).