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Court Watch
Summary Judgment for Domino's in Death of Franchisee's Employee: Will It Last?
Lind, et al v. Domino's Pizza LLC, et al, Bus. Franchise Guide (CCH) ' 15,567 (Appeals Court of Massachusetts, Hampden, July 29, 2015), is a case in which a Massachusetts intermediate appellate court affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant Domino's Pizza entities in a wrongful death action brought by the administrators of the estate of a Domino's franchisee's employee who was kidnapped, robbed and murdered during a late-night pizza delivery. Various theories of liability were proffered by the plaintiffs, including vicarious liability, negligence and contractual third-party beneficiary claims. Just before trial, the trial court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment on all issues and the plaintiffs appealed.
Corey Lind was an employee of the Boston Road Domino's franchise in Springfield, MA. In response to a 2:30 a.m. telephone order, Lind was dispatched to make a delivery. After some confusion as to the exact address, including call-backs to the person who placed the order, Lind left after 3:00 a.m. on the fateful delivery, never to be seen alive again. Lind's parents, as co-administrators of his estate, brought an action against Domino's Pizza LLC, the franchisor, and Domino's Pizza, Inc., claiming Domino's, as the franchisor of the Boston Road store, was vicariously liable for Lind's death since the Domino's Franchise Agreement gave the franchisor the right to control the policies and practices that led to Lind's murder.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?