Franchise Disputes & Franchise Litigation
Franchise Litigation and the settling of franchise disputes can be complex, requiring specific litigation experience and expertise. We are a leading firm in handling franchise agreement disputes and have an impressive track record in both prosecuting and defending franchising claims. Cubism Law is also an active member of the British Franchise Association (BFA).
Our dedicated franchising team is led by Andrew Pena (former Partner and Head of the Franchise Dispute Practice at Field Fisher Waterhouse) who has successfully handled over 1,000 franchising cases over the last 10 years. In all this time, Andrew and our Franchise Solicitors have:
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Never lost at trial and have been successful in around 90% of the court applications made.
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Have over 20 reported cases where Judgments have been made in favour of our clients.
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During the last 12 months, Cubism Law has recovered over £1.5 million for our franchising clients and successfully defended (i.e. no sums being paid in either settlement or awards) over 100 claims that have been made against our franchising clients.
Why use us for your franchise disputes? Our success is based on four key factors:
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Legal Expertise - Our team has over 25 years experience in handling and settling franchising disputes with a track record of success that is second to none, we are experts in franchise law.
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Strategic Awareness – We take a strategic approach to our case handling based on (i) a thorough analysis of the merits and (ii) a clear understanding of the client’s expectations. We then create a road map on how to achieve the desired result in the most cost effective and efficient way for you.
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Litigation Experience – We have been working on a number of franchise management models that allow our clients to create leverage (and reduce their risk) where disputes arise. This includes a strategy to avoid the risk of group franchisee claims which are becoming increasingly prevalent in the franchising industry.
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Results based billing – We operate a low overhead model which allows us to offer you highly competitive hourly rates with an uplift for pre-determined success. We believe the model offers excellent value whilst offering us an honest incentive to keenly pursue positive outcomes for our clients.
Our areas of expertise include:
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Strategic Review of Franchisor business to minimize litigation risk.
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Jurisdiction challenges.
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Defending and prosecuting Misrepresentation Claims
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Defending and prosecuting claims for breaches of (a) Franchise Agreements, (b) Developer Agreements, (c) Master Franchise Agreements and (d) Deposit Agreements
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Advising on Termination of Franchise Agreements.
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Prosecuting and Defending claims for damages arising out of termination of Franchise Agreements.
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Enforcement of Post-termination Provisions including (a) breaches of restrictive covenants and (b) breaches of confidentiality obligations
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Injunctions and Freezing Orders.
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National and International Arbitrations based on Franchise Agreements.
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Defending Franchisee Group claims and representative actions.
Some recent examples of our work include:
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Obtaining Summary Judgment for over £320,000 against defaulting franchisee.
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Obtaining Judgment for over £125,000 against defaulting franchisee.
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Obtaining enforcement of post termination restrictions by way of Injunctive Orders and Undertakings.
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Defeating Group claim by 16 franchisees by obtaining Judgments against various franchisees for over £700,000.
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Obtaining Committal Order (and 2 year suspended prison sentence) for persistent breach of Injunctive Orders.
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Strike out of £100,000 franchisee claim for failure to comply with Court directions.
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Strike out of £60,000 franchisee claim through successful challenge to jurisdiction.
Our track record in franchise litigation and dispute resolution speaks for itself - call us now and find out how we can help you ! Call 0207 831 0101 and ask to speak to the franchise department or use the contact us form on this page to get in touch.
Judged to be 'UK Franchise Firm of the Year 2011'.
Andrew Pena, ranked leading individual, Chambers 2010.
Andrew Pena
Robert Bedford
Testimonial
“We had a number of franchisees that were causing issues within our network: two franchisees were actively competing and under-declaring revenues, another was breaching her post-termination restrictive covenants and another was threatening to walk away from the business even though he had no legitimate complaint against us.
We had taken advice from other solicitors however they had no real strategy to sort all our issues. We sought a second opinion from Cubism Law, who were very practical with their advice. They came up with a clear strategy on each of the cases focused on the objectives we had discussed.
Once we had agreed the strategy they delivered precisely what they said they would. Not only did Cubism Law manage to stop the competing franchisees and ex-franchisee they recovered sufficient sums from them to more than cover our legal costs and compensate us for the losses we had incurred.
Since Cubism Law took a firm stance with our franchisees we have had no further problems within the network.”
UK Franchisor (the client has asked for their name to be kept confidential)
“Andrew Pena is a force to be reckoned with. He is managing director of Cubism Law and has amassed a great deal of experience in franchising disputes, having handled more than 1,000 cases over the past decade.”
Chambers & Partners
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