Carmen D. Caruso Law Firm has obtained a confidential settlement agreement for a Muslim-American franchisee that immigrated from Pakistan and alleged violations of his civil rights under 42 U.S.C. Section 1981.
The settlement will allow the franchisee to remain in business as a multi-unit owner in a major brand and contains a cash settlement as a buyout of a unit that is not profitable. Carmen presented the franchisor with a draft, ready-to-file civil rights complaint alleging a pattern of purposeful racial steering of minority franchisees to inferior sites, often in crime-ridden neighborhoods, followed by retaliatory grading by the franchisor of the franchisee’s units when the franchisee wised up and complained about conduct perceived to be discriminatory.
Carmen received the case shortly before statutes of limitation would expire and persuaded the franchisor to sign a tolling agreement that allowed the parties to resolve their dispute in confidential mediation (sparing the franchisor from having to disclose a civil rights lawsuit).