Carmen D. Caruso enjoys a unique vantage point among trial lawyers in the franchise and dealership field. He has earned a national reputation for his aggressive representation of franchisees and dealers, and their independent franchisee associations, while also representing numerous franchisors, including the world’s largest.

Caruso started in franchise litigation by defending McDonald’s Corporation and Godfather’s Pizza in serious cases. Later, he became nationally known as an advocate for Fair Franchising after he won a decisive federal court appellate victory upholding the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing as a critical protection against arbitrary and capricious franchisor conduct.

Caruso then accepted the challenge of establishing and chairing the Franchise & Distribution practice at a larger firm, overseeing the work of transactional franchise attorneys in addition to growing his litigation practice. In this capacity he has served as trial counsel for the independent franchisee association of a major national food service brand in a system-wide disputes and also as trial counsel and outside general counsel for a “Top 200” international retailer in franchising and other business disputes.

Significantly, Caruso’s recent franchisor clients saw his “franchisee & dealer advocacy” as an asset. They know that Caruso sees both sides of the argument. They called on Caruso to position their organizations for good relations with their franchisees.

Caruso now serves on the Illinois Attorney General’s Franchise Advisory Board as its unofficial franchisee advocate. He is an Illinois Leading Lawyer and an Illinois Super Lawyer in the fields of franchising as well as general business litigation and has frequently named as a Legal Eagle by Franchise Times.

With nearly thirty years experience on both sides of the aisle, Caruso has represented clients in nearly 100 branded systems. He has engaged in numerous system-wide disputes and other significant cases which the amount in controversy exceeded $10 million. In a recent franchise arbitration in Denver, Colorado, Caruso served as a party selected arbitrator. In sum Caruso has developed an enviable track record in virtually every type of franchising or dealership problem imaginable including:

• Registration & Disclosure violations and “hidden franchises” in dealership, agency and licensing agreements
• Fraudulent Inducement claims brought under state franchising laws (such as the Illinois Franchise Disclosure Act and “Little FTC” Acts; such as the Illinois Consumer Fraud & Deceptive Business Practices Act) and the common law; and under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO).
• Breach of Contract Claims, including claims for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in numerous areas such as the expenditure of advertising funds, mandated product supply and pricing disputes, territorial encroachment, national accounts, alternative channels of distribution, software problems, re-investment and remodeling requirements, and transfers and renewals.
• Terminations and Non-renewals
• State law statutory claims under the Illinois Franchise Disclosure Act, the Illinois Consumer Fraud & Deceptive Business Practices Act, the Illinois Equipment Fair Delaership Law, the Illinois Motor Vehicle Franchise Act, the Uniform Commercial Code, and the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act
• Claims Arising under the Petroluem Marketing Practices Act
• Post-termination Claims for the enforcement of non-competition clauses
• Antitrust Claims
• Supplier Disputes
• Intellectual Property Disputes including trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets or confidential information, and in certain systems, the use of patents; and also including franchisee efforts to independently develop new products and services
• Industry-specific cases such as PMPA (Petroleum Marketing Practices Act) cases for gas station/c-store dealers
• Industry-specific cases such as claims for liquidated damages upon termination, which are prevalent in the hotel industry
• Civil Rights Claims under 42 U.S.C. §1981 for racial discrimination in franchising
• Legal Malpractice Claims against attorneys who were not familiar with franchising laws or who engage in conflicts of interest by representing multiple parties, e.g. a foreign parent company and its U.S. subsidiary, whose interests might not be the same

Caruso is a frequent speaker on franchise law topics for the American Bar Association and other organizations, and enjoys widespread Professional Recognition in this field.

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