There are so many things to consider when buying a restaurant that we decided to break that list down to just seven issues. If you only look at these issues, you should avoid most of the big hazards when you buy your next restaurant. Now, this assumes that you have some idea of the restaurant… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Litigation
Subscribe to Litigation RSS FeedTop Ten Tax Mistakes for Restaurant Owners
Posted in Corporate Entity, Employees & Waitstaff, Franchises, Liability, Litigation, Real Estate, Recent Law TrendsWe all know how important restaurant taxes are to restaurant owners. Last week, our own tax counsel, David Gair, outlined his Top Ten Tax Mistakes for Restaurant Owner on TexasTaxTalk.com, so TexasRestaurantLaw.com decided to share it as well. Here is the list in its entirety: Employee Classification – Misclassifying workers as independent contractors and not… Continue Reading
What Is Restaurant Intellectual Property?
Posted in Acquisitions, Competition, Contracts, Employees & Waitstaff, Intellectual Property, Liability, Litigation, Negotiation, VendorsAt TexasRestaurantLaw.com, we have covered “Who Owns Your Restaurant Name?” and “Is Your Restaurant Recipe Safe?” However, we have not previously discussed the many parts of restaurant intellectual property. This post shows some of the most critical pieces that encompass restaurant intellectual property. Your Name & Brand We all hear that branding is everything. Likewise,… Continue Reading
How To Deal With Restaurant Partner Disputes
Posted in Commentary, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Franchising, Liability, Litigation, NegotiationThere are many motivations for restaurant creation and investment. However, these different desires can lead to conflict, so how are restaurant operators, owners, and investors supposed to resolve these conflicts? This post answers that question, and it gives a game plan to operators, owners, and investors to deal with these inevitable conflicts. Step One: Avoid… Continue Reading
Sugar And Horses: How To Deal With Restaurant Supply Issues?
Posted in Commentary, Liability, Litigation, Negotiation, News, Recent Law Trends, VendorsTwo recent news stories present the issue of how restaurants should deal with supply issues. The first story is the infamous horse meat scandal that has plagued Burger King in the United Kingdom since January. Click here for that story. The second story appeared in today’s Wall Street Journal. It deals with the fact that… Continue Reading
When To Terminate A Restaurant Transaction
Posted in Acquisitions, Commentary, Competition, Contracts, Franchises, Franchising, Liability, Litigation, NegotiationRestaurant transactions are similar to the old Kenny Rogers song, The Gambler – “You’ve got to know when to walk away, and know when to run!” Perspective is so important in general, and in restaurant transactions, you must know when to move forward on deals and when to kill them. But how do you determine… Continue Reading
What Makes Restaurant Litigation So Darn Expensive?
Posted in Liability, Litigation, NegotiationWe get this question quite a bit. There’s a dispute. Our restaurant client knows they are right. The restaurant wants a quick result and wants it done inexpensively. What in the world is takes so long or costs so much? Shown below are some answers to this question and some ways to reduce your litigation… Continue Reading
Biggest Legal Causes Of Restaurant Failures
Posted in Acquisitions, Commentary, Franchises, Franchising, Liability, Litigation, Negotiation, Real Estate, Recent Law TrendsJust this week, two of my favorite restaurants in Dallas closed operations. This led me to consider the biggest issues I have seen that factored into a troubled restaurant. A few of these may not be a surprise, but you may be shocked at others. Consider this list of top legal reasons why restaurants fail:… Continue Reading
The Absolutely Essential Issues In A Restaurant Lease
Posted in Acquisitions, Contracts, Corporate Entity, Franchises, Franchising, Liability, Litigation, Negotiation, Real EstateLeasing is a big issue for restaurants. Almost all restaurants at least start out leasing their space. Often, restaurants are required to lease their space to capture the prime locations of a given area. For these reasons and many more, it is vital for restaurant owners to pay close attention to leasing terms. The following… Continue Reading
Can An Email Bind Your Restaurant Like A Contract?
Posted in Acquisitions, Commentary, Contracts, Employees & Waitstaff, Liability, Litigation, Negotiation, Recent Law Trends, VendorsWe all think of email as a convenience. The same is true for text messages. These are just easy ways to communicate. They don’t really mean anything. Right? Wrong! Email and text messages are some of the most dangerous tools created. They are powerful. They are permanent. And in Texas, they are binding. Don’t believe… Continue Reading
How To Handle Alcohol Liability Claims
Posted in Alcohol, Liability, Litigation, Recent Law TrendsWith the tragic death of Dallas Cowboy’s player Jerry Brown, Jr. still fresh in our minds, it is more important than ever to be wary of potential liability from alcohol distribution. (For the latest on that story, see this link from an article written by Elissa Repko and Selwyn Crawford at the Dallas Morning News)…. Continue Reading
The Single Biggest Mistake Made When Selling A Restaurant
Posted in Acquisitions, Contracts, Liability, Litigation, NegotiationNow that we’re all stuffed and overweight after Thanksgiving, I thought that I would mention another type of over-doing it: your representations to a potential buyer when you decide to sell a restaurant. These representations are critical to the success of a sale, both before negotiations begin and after you close on the sale. With… Continue Reading
Restaurant Non-Competes: Are They Worth It?
Posted in Contracts, Employees & Waitstaff, Employment, Liability, Litigation, Recent Law TrendsA funny thing happened recently. When Lauren Drewes Daniels at The Dallas Observer featured TexasRestaurantLaw.com last week at this link, a controversy ensued between folks that commented on the article. The dispute involved whether non-competes were valid and enforceable in Texas. Apparently, it is a common myth that non-compete agreements are not enforceable in Texas,… Continue Reading
Is Franchising The Only Key To Restaurant Success?
Posted in Contracts, Franchises, Franchising, Legislation, Liability, Litigation, NegotiationWe talk a lot here about franchising and for good reason. After all, many restaurant owners make great money by developing or buying into a great franchise concept. However, some restaurant owners take a different approach: they develop their own brand and remain the key figure in each additional restaurant. Stephen Pyles is one such… Continue Reading
5 Top Strategies For Protecting Your Restaurant And Personal Assets
Posted in Contracts, Corporate Entity, Liability, LitigationHow safe are the assets in your restaurants? Are you personally liable for your restaurant’s liabilities? These are two of the most common questions we get from our restaurant owner clients, so we thought we would share five of the top strategies we use to shield our restaurant owners from liabilities at their restaurants, which… Continue Reading
Is Your Restaurant Recipe Safe?
Posted in Acquisitions, Contracts, Franchises, Franchising, Intellectual Property, Liability, LitigationDid you know that KFC uses two different companies to blend the herbs and spices that make up its secret recipe? One company blends part of the spices, the other blends the remaining spices, and a computerized processor mixes them together so that neither company knows the full recipe. Like the Colonel, you may have… Continue Reading
A Fight Broke Out At My Restaurant – Am I Liable?
Posted in Liability, Litigation, Real Estate, Recent Law TrendsWhether a restaurant or its owner is liable for restaurant fights depends. “Depends on what?” you ask. Let me tell you by asking and then answering the following questions: What Did The Police Say? No one can escape personal liability for their own, direct actions. No amount of insurance, legal maneuvering, or other actions will… Continue Reading
Restaurant Trade Fixtures And Equipment – What Belongs To You And What Belongs To The Landlord?
Posted in Acquisitions, Contracts, Liability, Litigation, Real EstateCo-Authored by Matt Sanderson & Lindsey Postula THE MYSTERIOUS TRADE FIXTURE What are trade fixtures? Trade fixtures are the equipment that a tenant uses to operate its business. Although they are not considered to be real property (which means they don’t fall into the definition of fixtures), they are generally attached to the leased premises… Continue Reading
Help: The City Wants To Shut Down My Restaurant!
Posted in Alcohol, Liability, Litigation, NegotiationThe unthinkable has happened – your restaurant, your baby, is being threatened by the “man”, and it’s up to you to save the day. Don’t worry – help is on the way! How Did This Happen? Let’s first discuss why this may have happened. Most cases of restaurant closure fall into the following categories: (1)… Continue Reading
To Partner Or Not To Partner: Top Things To Consider Before Bringing On A Restaurant Partner
Posted in Acquisitions, Corporate Entity, Franchising, Litigation, Recent Law TrendsMany of my clients think that partners and shared ownership are great. They are right, to a point, but there are often times that partners are more a pain than a benefit. With that in mind, I thought I’d share some of the benefits and drawbacks of partnering your restaurant business. Benefits of A Restaurant… Continue Reading
Can You Walk Your Restaurant Lease When Times Are Bad?
Posted in Acquisitions, Franchises, Franchising, Liability, Litigation, Real EstateMany restaurant owners think that the need to close a restaurant involves a lot of pain and headache from landlords among others. Certainly, that’s the case often, but there are some options that that may be available to make this less painful than necessary. As such, here are some things to consider if you think… Continue Reading
Are Your Waiters And Managers Stealing You Blind?
Posted in Employees & Waitstaff, Employment, Franchises, Franchising, Liability, LitigationAs I’m sure you already know, theft is one of the absolute biggest problems that restaurant owners face. You started your restaurant to have more time, but now that’s eaten up by watching all of the employees constantly. The problem is further compounded by the fact that even if caught, you’re not likely to ever… Continue Reading
Are Texas Restaurants Required To Serve Free Water?
Posted in Alcohol, Competition, Franchises, Legislation, Litigation, Recent Law TrendsOne of our dedicated blog followers recently asked whether Texas restaurants are required to serve water without charge. I had heard for years that this was a law, but since I did not already know the answer, I looked into this further. The results were surprising. It seems that at least at the state level,… Continue Reading
Put More Money in Your Pocket: Perform a Lease Audit
Posted in Contracts, Franchises, Litigation, Negotiation, News, Real EstateDid you know that you have a 90% chance of overpaying operating costs (CAM, Taxes and Insurance) under your lease, if you fail to check the calculation for accuracy. This comes from the December 2009 edition of Commercial Tenant’s Lease Insider. Many landlords do not take the time to reflect tenant-specific exclusions, caps, etc…. Continue Reading