Arizona Franchise Excellence Award Winners Announced

Franchise_Awards2_2015Congratulations to all the finalists and award recipients recognized on Thursday, May 7, at the 2015 Arizona Franchise Excellence Awards sponsored by Quarles & Brady in partnership with the Phoenix Business Journal. With many franchisee and franchisor leaders from the Phoenix area in attendance, the event was a huge success in bringing the franchise community together for the first time to celebrate and honor the contributions that franchisees and franchisors make to the economic success of our community.

The award winners are:

Lifetime Achievement – Tom Barnett, Barnett Management
Franchisor of the Year – Dave Crisalli, Message Envy Spa
Franchisee of the Year – Ed Holmes, Papa Murphy’s
Franchise Supplier/Professional of the Year – Harriet Moser, FranNet of Arizona
New Concept of the Year – Steven Morris, Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill Arizona
Community Impact Award – Ron Lynch, Tilted Kilt

Click here to see the full list of finalists. Click here for photos from the evening.

We applaud all of this year’s nominees, finalists, and award recipients for their hard work and dedication. Thank you for your contributions and commitment to promote franchising and to the betterment of the Phoenix community.

Pitched Battle In The Fight Over Joint-Employer Status Rages On

187848640Hearings recently opened in the National Labor Relation Board’s controversial case accusing McDonald’s and its franchisees of anti-union activity under a joint-employer theory. Those consolidated hearings are set to occur in three locations, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, with the trial portion likely to start in mid May 2015. The case is being closely watched given the potential to expand liability to franchisors for the employment decisions and obligations of their franchisees and franchisees’ workers.

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Arizona Franchise Excellence Awards Finalists Announced

PrintQuarles & Brady is a proud sponsor of the Phoenix Business Journal’s Arizona Franchise Excellence Awards. For anyone in the franchise industry in Arizona, this is an event you do not want to miss. This event is the first of its kind to spotlight and honor Arizona’s top franchisors, franchisees, and franchise-related businesses. Nearly 80 nominations were submitted for consideration.  The finalists, listed below, were announced by the Phoenix Business Journal on Friday, April 3, 2015. The winners in each category will be announced at the awards ceremony on May 7, 2015, at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Scottsdale from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

To register for the event and for more information click here.

Joe Bourdow will be the keynote speaker at the event. Mr. Bourdow is a successful entrepreneur and corporate executive with nearly forty years of experience in franchising, advertising sales and broadcasting. He has spent thirty-five years in franchise ownership and franchisor leadership and sales management positions with Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, Inc.

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Planning the FDD Update Process

Renewal season is upon us. Franchisors with fiscal years coinciding with the calendar year are now in the throws of updating their Franchise Disclosure Document. Given strict deadlines and the inherent difficulty in collecting the required information, having a plan for the updating process is critical. Here are five tips that can help your FDD updating process be more efficient this renewal season:

1. Know Your Deadlines. A franchisor violates federal and state franchise sales laws by offering or selling franchises with an out-of-date FDD or expired registration. Under the Franchise Rule of the Federal Trade Commission, the FDD expires 120 days after the franchisor’s fiscal year end. So, if the franchisor operates on a calendar year, the FDD expires on April 30. On the state side, registration periods vary. Some states set registration periods tied to the franchisor’s fiscal year end, while other states determine registration periods based on the franchisor’s original effective date in that state. Moreover, franchisors should be sure to check states laws for automatic renewal deadlines and treat them as the real filing deadline, rather than the registration expiration date. Missed deadlines could force the franchisor to suspend all solicitation activities in the state. In sum, know the deadlines in each jurisdiction in which you sell or offer franchises, docket and track those deadlines, and keep your sales staff apprised of any lapses in registrations.

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Quarles & Brady Franchising Workshop in Phoenix, Arizona

Franchise_Blog_IconJoin Quarles & Brady on April 9, 2015 in Phoenix for the second of three complimentary workshops on franchising topics titled, “Leveraging and Protecting Your Franchise Brand with the Right Marketing Mix.”

Creating a successful franchise brand requires the right combination of traditional and online marketing efforts; franchise development to attract the best franchisees; and properly selected and registered trademarks, trade names and logos. Heather Buchta of Quarles & Brady and Matthew Jonas of TopFire Media will discuss ways to protect, leverage and market your franchise brand. Anyone considering franchising their business, or anyone who is currently a franchisor, should attend these workshops.

For more workshop details or to RSVP click here.

 

2015 IFA Conference Recap

Money and Justice iStock_000014343429MediumThe 2015 International Franchise Association Conference recently held in Las Vegas served as a reminder of the growing issues with organized labor in the franchise industry. In particular, the traditional roles of franchisors and franchisees are being challenged by labor unions alleging franchisors and their franchisees are violating the rights of the franchisee’s employees.

The arguments are taking form on two fronts:

  1. Those supporting an increase in the minimum wage are seeking to classify franchise owners differently from traditional small business owners by aggregating all of the employees across a franchise system under one umbrella to require franchisees implement higher minimum wages more quickly than their competitors. The result disproportionately affects, and disadvantages, franchisees vis-a-vis their competitors.
  2. A National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel ruling that McDonald’s is a “joint employer” of their franchisees’ employees allows employees to assert claims for wage violations against McDonald’s and its franchisees collectively, and, if successful, would support unionizing employees within a franchise brand.

In response, the IFA announced renewed lobbying efforts and a grassroots education outreach addressing minimum wage and joint-employer issues through the Coalition to Save Local Businesses. Franchisors can learn more about these efforts at www.savelocalbusinesses.com.

Twenty Years After Stella Liebeck, Plaintiffs Are Still Suing McDonald’s Over Hot Coffee

Hot_CoffeeIn 1994, one of the most famous civil verdicts in American history was rendered.  On August 18th of that year, a New Mexico jury awarded 81-year-old Stella Liebeck nearly $2.9 million in damages after she was burned by McDonald’s coffee that had spilled in her lap.  The case sent shockwaves through the legal community, became a poster child for tort reform, and continues to be a running pop-culture joke even now, two decades later.

But believe it or not, plaintiffs are still suing the fast-food giant over the temperature of its coffee.  In a recent New York case, Khanimov v. McDonald’s Corporation, 2014 WL 5461641 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. App. Div. Oct. 29, 2014), the plaintiff sued both McDonald’s and the franchisee who owned and operated the restaurant.  The plaintiff claimed that he slipped and fell at a Brooklyn McDonald’s and was burned by hot coffee that he had just been served.  He alleged that the coffee was unreasonably hot and therefore dangerous.  Initially, the trial court dismissed the suit.   Continue Reading

Seventh Circuit Rules That an Undisclosed Franchise Owner Is Subject to the Franchise Agreement’s Arbitration Clause

Close-up of male hands with pen over documentThe issue of whether non-signatories to an arbitration agreement can be forced to arbitrate is not new, but it’s an issue that doesn’t arise often in the franchise context.  Recently, however, the Seventh Circuit ruled that an undisclosed partner in a franchised business was required to arbitrate her claims in accordance with the franchise agreement’s terms, even though she never signed the agreement.  Everett v. Paul Davis Restoration, Inc., Nos. 12–3407, 13–1036, 2014 WL 5573300 (7th Cir. Nov. 3, 2014).

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“Undercover Boss” Episode Isn’t Enough to Prove Vicarious Liability, Says a Maryland Federal Court

GavelPlaintiffs routinely sue franchisors for the alleged misconduct of their franchisees.  In fact, it’s become an exceedingly common practice.  To use a simple example, if a person slips and falls in the parking lot of a franchised Joe’s Burger Shack location, they’ll inevitably sue Joe’s Burger Shack Franchising, Inc. as well, even if Franchising didn’t cause the plaintiff’s fall and couldn’t have done anything to prevent it from happening.

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