1. Under what conditions are a franchisor liable for the actions of a franchisee?

Patterson v. Domino's Pizza (franchisor) was in a former edition of your text and is presented below. Here are the relevant facts in a suit for sexual harassment filed by a worker at a Domino's Pizza store; you may wish to review them briefly before reading the case:

• Persons who worked for franchisee were paid by the franchisee
• Franchisee responsible by contract for managing employees, and did not include franchisor in the application, interview, or hiring process
• Sexual harassment policy of franchisee not reviewed in any way by the franchisor
  • Why do you think the lawyers for Patterson were so interested in getting Domino's involved as a defendant?
  • Why do you think Dominos fought so hard not to be a defendant?
  • After the trial court ruling, was Patterson able to go to trial vs. Dominos? Why or why not? Hint: The answer to this question and the two questions following depends upon understanding summary judgment: "After the discovery process, either party can file a motion for summary judgment. The motion asserts that no factual disputes exist and that if the judge applied the law to the undisputed facts, her only reasonable decision would be in favor of the moving party...The judge grants the motion if, after examining the evidence, she finds no factual disputes. If however, she finds any factual issues about which the parties disagree, she denies the motion and sends the case to trial."
  • After the Court of Appeals ruling, was Patterson able to go to trial on this issue vs. Dominos? Why or why not?
  • After the CA Supreme Court ruling, was Patterson able to go to trial on this issue vs. Dominos? Why or why not?
  • If Patterson's lawyer could alter the facts slightly to change the way the CA Supreme Court ruled in Patterson, what facts would the lawyer be interested in altering and what would those alterations be?

(The link to the Case: https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/casebrief/p/casebrief-patterson-v-domino-s-pizza-llc)

2. Many of us dream about what we would like to do for work in our ideal situation. What is yours? It is about running a business or just having a great job in one? Now, in one paragraph, tell us about that business, what goods or services it sells, who does it sell to, and what makes it a great business to run or in which to work. If your goal is just to have a great job in a certain business, make sure you analyze the business and how it should be formed (not your job).

• My dream job would be in a General Partnership in owning a company. I want to be able to work flexible hours and make sure everyone is satisfied with my help. Could I get assistance in answering these questions in correlation to my company:
• A majority of these questions are opinions based and I want them still to be answered based on your own point of view.
• 1) In setting up your business, do you want to minimize the costs of getting started? Do you hope to avoid complex government regulations and reporting requirements? 2) How much control would you like? How much responsibility for running the business are you willing to share? What about sharing the profits? 3) Are the customers for your business global or local? How will you reach them? 4) Do you have all the skills needed to run the business? 5) Are you likely to get along with your co-owners over an extended period of time? 6) Is it important to you that the business survive you? 7) What are your financing needs and how do you plan to finance your company? 8) How much personal exposure to liability are you willing to accept? Do you feel uneasy about accepting personal liability for the actions of fellow owners?