Franchisees and dealers facing a termination grounded on a failure to pay franchise fees frequently make one of three arguments: (1) the franchisor waived the right to insist on the prompt payment; (2) the amount of the arrears was not material; or (3) the franchisor's wrongful conduct caused the franchisee's inability to pay. Courts, however, have little patience for such attempts by franchisees to justify the non-payment of fees...

In a recent decision by the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, the Court denied the plaintiff franchisor's motion for a preliminary injunction, showing that, in rare situations, it is possible for a terminated franchisee to escape the lethal injunctive pincers of the Lanham Act, the federal law that is frequently relied upon by franchisors to shut down a franchisee's operations during termination disputes...

In a recent case in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, a federal court reversed its own initial decision in which it had upheld a franchisee's wrongful termination claim against its franchisor. Tex. Ujoints, LLC v. Dana Holding Corp., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70468 (E.D. Wis., May 30, 2015). Granting a motion for reconsideration, the District Court held that the plaintiff was not a "franchisee' under the relevant franchise law because, although the plaintiff had purchased the 'franchise rights to distribute' from a former franchisee, it had done so without first obtaining the consent of the franchisor for the purchase...

RIDING THE CIRCUITS FOR HOTEL FRANCHISEE CASES:

Good news and bad news for THI franchisee defaulted for failure to appear in Court: [Judge: "I will enter a default judgment. THI is awarded $327,213.03, comprising: (i) $207,414.71 in outstanding fees; (ii) liquidated damages of $76,500; (iii) $34,711.60 in interest on the LDs." However, the Judge in his discretion denied THI's request for $164,768.40 in trebled damages for post-termination Lanham Act violations. Travelodge Hotels v. S.S.B. Assoc. 7/27/15]; Court cuts Super 8 Franchisor slack for its failure to prosecute: [Judge: "The Court finds that reinstatement of (Super 8's) Complaint would result in little, if any, prejudice to the defendants...

Franchisor advocates who are constantly yelling 'the sky is falling' in the face of new franchise legislation should take great solace in recent Minnesota federal court decisions that have blasted gaping holes in the Minnesota Franchise Act. Ironically, the MFA, which was enacted to provide heightened legal protection to franchisees and dealers, is itself serving as the fulcrum for the erosion of some legal rights that franchisees had before the MFA was passed...

http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/coverstory/2016/01/11/394052.htm

Okay; maybe I'm missing something. The underlying purpose of insurance is to assess and manage risk. And, altho insurance companies many times prefer to establish insurance programs for situations in which there is there is little to no risk, creative, aggressive and successful underwriters are capable of building profitable programs in the face of tangible heightened risk...