Last week the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington dismissed two of the four counts—including an antitrust claim—brought by a disgruntled franchisee in Danforth & Associates, Inc. v. Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10882 (W.D. Wash. Feb. 3, 2011). In addition to dismissing a claim for breach of contract, the court made a brief and specific ruling that a claim under Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act cannot be based on an alleged conspiracy between a franchisor and a franchisee. For this reason, the court ruled that the plaintiff-franchisee could not seek relief under a theory that its franchisor had conspired with another franchisee to favor that franchisee over the plaintiff.
The information contained in this post is provided to alert you to legal developments and should not be considered legal advice. It is not intended to and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Specific questions about how this information affects your particular situation should be addressed to one of the individuals listed. No representations or warranties are made with respect to this information, including, without limitation, as to its completeness, timeliness, or accuracy, and Lathrop GPM shall not be liable for any decision made in connection with the information. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements.
About this Publication
The Franchise Memorandum is a collection of postings on summaries of recent legal developments of interest to franchisors brought to you by Lathrop GPM LLP.
To subscribe to monthly emails for The Franchise Memorandum, please click here.
RSS Feed