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Court Watch

By Bryan Huntington and R. Henry Pfutzenreuter

Court Dismisses Franchise Act Claims

Businesses alleging their status as franchisees are often quick to assume the applicability of protective franchise acts and rely upon them as leverage against the alleged franchisor. In those instances where the alleged franchisee operates in multiple territories, there may be a significant number of franchise acts claimed to apply. The first thing experienced franchisor litigation counsel will do once a dispute arises is determine whether there are grounds to challenge the initial applicability of those franchise acts. The recent decision in Rogovsky Enterprises, Inc. v. MasterBrand Cabinets, Inc., No. 3:15-cv-00022, 2015 WL 7721223 (S.D. Ind. Nov. 30, 2015), demonstrates that if the alleged franchisor can successfully challenge that the necessary elements of a franchise exist under one state's statute, that likely spells the end for some or all of the alleged franchisee's other franchise act claims as well.

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