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Court Watch
Master Franchisor's Claim For Wrongful Termination Under the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Fails
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin held that a sandwich shop master franchisor, Brown Dog, Inc. ('Brown Dog'), failed to substantially comply with its agreement to meet its development quotas for opening new franchises despite being only one or two franchises behind in any given quarter. Therefore, the Quizno's Franchise Company's ('Quizno's') termination of the parties' agreement was lawful under the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law (the 'WFDL'). Brown Dog, Inc., et al. v. The Quizno's Franchise Company LLC, BFG '13,229 (Dec. 27, 2005).
By way of background, the court noted that in 1992 Quizno's only had about 40 restaurants open, but at the time of the trial, Quizno's had about 4000 restaurants open worldwide. Although it had many underperforming master franchisors from 1994 to 2002, Quizno's made no concerted effort to force its master franchisors to meet their development quotas. But the explosive growth of the restaurant chain during the 1990s, coupled with a change in management in 2002, resulted in a policy change that favored enforcement of the development quotas.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.