Franchise owners are increasingly using class actions to sue their parent companies over disputes they otherwise couldn’t to afford to pursue on their own, lawyers say.
Taking a franchise company to court as an individual owner is a daunting and expensive prospect. However, by suing the company that licenses franchises, individual owners can band together and garner significant clout to fight back at corporate actions they don’t like.
Ongoing cases include familiar corporate names such as Tim Hortons, Midas Inc., Quiznos, General Motors and Suncor, to name a few.
“The pendulum has swung in favour of plaintiffs,” says Eunice Machado, a partner in the commercial litigation group at Cassels Brock & Blackwell in Toronto, whose firm defends franchisors in class actions. Read more.
Photo: Brett Gundlock / National Post.
