November 15, 2014 Registering your brewery with all the important state, local, and federal agencies can be a daunting task. Regrettably, there is little guidance out there to help you along the way. Nobody tells you which agencies you need to file with, and the agencies themselves certainly don’t seek you out until it’s far Read more…

On behalf of Garner, Ginsburg & Johnsen, P.A. on Wednesday, July 23, 2014. A California federal court has handed a significant victory to our franchisee client, Frango Grille USA, Inc., in denying a franchisor’s motion to dismiss and allowing the franchisee’s lawsuit to proceed. The franchise agreement contained a “choice of forum” provision that required Read more…

July 14, 2023 Yes – at least to a degree. But not as much as cities seem to think. A local unit of government, however, may not prohibit possession, transportation, or use of cannabis flower or products. Fortunately, Minn. Stat. 342.13(b) prohibits a local unit of government from prohibiting the establishment of a licensed cannabis Read more…

August 19, 2021 When you go into business for yourself, you know that you are ultimately responsible for its success or failure. There may be market factors that take a toll, and there may be forces of nature that you may not be able to overcome, but you know that how you weather the downs Read more…

July 1, 2016 On behalf of Garner, Ginsburg & Johnsen, P.A. on Friday, July 1, 2016. Many of you franchisees ask us if franchisors can treat franchisees differently. The question comes in various forms: My franchisor isn’t collecting royalties from some other franchisees. So why do I have to pay? A number of franchisees in Read more…

March 16, 2023 Franchisees frequently tell us that they are unhappy with their franchisors. This can be for any number of reasons — inadequate training, poor marketing, lack of lead generation, ineffective website, etc. Often, it boils down to the following statement: “I am making franchise royalty payments, but I’m not getting anything in return.”  Read more…

August 12, 2021 Whether or not you, as a franchisee, can assert claims in a lawsuit against your franchisor is a loaded question. On one hand, the answer is yes; you can sue anyone for anything at any time — it doesn’t mean you’ll win or that the case will go anywhere, but you can. Read more…

February 21, 2017 Franchisees that contact us frequently ask if they can close the franchise and continue operating an independent business in the same industry.  The short answer in the majority of cases is, unfortunately, “no.”  But with good advice from a franchise lawyer, a franchisee may be able to avoid the non-competition agreement. Many Read more…

On behalf of Garner, Ginsburg & Johnsen, P.A. on Thursday, October 4, 2012. When business partners in the restaurant industry part ways—sometimes as co-owners of a restaurant, sometimes as franchisor and franchisee—the issue frequently arises whether recipes used in the business belong to one of the parties and whether that party can prohibit the other, Read more…

January 13, 2017 A number of alcoholic beverage industry members have taken a strong stance against the legalization of marijuana.  A beer distributor political action committee (PAC), for example, gave $25,000 to a group in Massachusetts that was opposing the ballot measure to legalize marijuana.  Some larger breweries, including Boston Beer Company (producer of Sam Read more…

October 20, 2023 Not all states that have legalized cannabis authorized legal delivery of cannabis. Minnesota, however, is following the lead of states like Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, Michigan, and Nevada that do authorize delivery. A delivery license will not, however, come easy and those that obtain a delivery license are subject to a variety of Read more…

Starting a cannabis business can be a complex process that requires careful planning, research, and compliance with state and local regulations. Here are some general steps to consider when starting a cannabis business: As you can see, there’s a lot to manage when it comes to starting a cannabis business that can be successful and Read more…