In the Know

In the Know is a quarterly publication written by our lawyers on current franchising news and recent legal developments.

View pdfs: Summer 2012, Winter 2012, Fall 2011, Winter 2011, Summer 2010, Fall 2009, Spring 2009, Winter 2009, Fall 2008

Recent Blog Posts

Proposed Law Targets Harassment by Litigation

David Sterns

Published March 5, 2011

One of the best and worst features of our civil justice system is that basically anyone can sue anyone else, for anything, at any time.

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Non-Competition Covenants: Important Limits on the Freedom to Contract

Andy Seretis

Published March 5, 2011

A franchisor faces this tough issue before ever signing its first franchise agreement: how does it protect its investment in the franchise system by ensuring that its franchisees do not use what they will learn to compete with the franchise system?

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Forced Releases in Franchise Sales and Transfers

Vukica Djuric

Published March 5, 2011

As stated by the Court of Appeal, a provision in a franchise agreement requiring franchisees to give up potential future claims against the franchisor for purported breaches of the Act in order to renew the franchise agreement “unequivocally runs afoul of the Act”.

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Canadian Class Action Update

Allan D.J. Dick

Published March 5, 2011

Since the release of our fall newsletter there have been several important developments in various Canadian franchise class proceedings.

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Re-freshing Your Brand: Legal Considerations

Allan D.J. Dick and David Gray

Published March 5, 2011

Franchise systems, by their very nature, are evolutionary and subject to change. Change can include a whole variety of modifications; from changes to the colour scheme of your “house” signage and trade-mark to the implementation of major system changes. This article considers the legal implications of making changes.

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“Material Changes” to a Disclosure Document – What do they mean?

John Yiokaris

Published March 5, 2011

In our experience, franchisors are quite familiar with the definition of “material fact” – but are less familiar with the franchisor’s obligation to disclose a “material change” once they have given out their disclosure document.

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Confusing Renewal Clauses and the Duty of Fair Dealing – Ontario Court of Appeal Addresses Both

John Yiokaris

Published March 5, 2011

A right of renewal of a franchise agreement can very rarely be inferred from the surrounding circumstances of the franchise relationship and the statutory duty of fair dealing. With respect to express rights of renewal, the Ontario Court of Appeal recently affirmed the lower court’s decision in Salah v. Timothy’s Coffees of the World Inc. This decision serves as a caution to franchisors.

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