International Law

Tasti D-Lite Franchise

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Ellen Byron, of the WSJ, has a complete puff piece on Jim Amos and the Tasti D-Lite franchise.

"Now, the franchising guru behind Mail Boxes Etc. and I Can't Believe It's Yogurt is betting that such Tasti D-Lite devotees can be cultivated in cities around the world, just as competition among frozen treats is heating up.

James Amos, who, along with New York private-equity firm Snow Phipps Group LLC, acquired the New York-based frozen-dessert business for $21 million last year, is forging deals to expand the chain nationally and internationally with new store formats, additional flavors and new products such as energy drinks and baked goods."

In the interest of balanced and fair reporting, let me point out that there is another side here.

But, Mr. Amos has a very checkered past with respect to his franchisees.

From BMM,

"If you take a long look at Jim Amos' history you will see fraud, failures and lawsuits. You will also see that his "team" follows him.

Jim and his associates have a long history of being sued.

It happened at his last three franchises.

When Jim Amos and Peter Holt were at I Can't Believe It's Yogurt(owned by Brice Foods) they were "cited by a Texas 4th Court judge for a conspiracy against franchisees, but Amos settled out of court before trial. He was given a stern warning by the judge in his minutes. Here's a snippet from the minutes..."

"The jury found, inter alia, that Scott, Amos, and Holt were involved in a conspiracy. Amos and Holt had settled before trial, and, after the verdict, Scott settled by way of a non-dischargeable agreed judgment in his bankruptcy case for $1,500,000."

See also court document attached (pdf).

These are important concerns for any prospective franchisee to make up his or her mind about.

The WSJ should have at least mentioned Amos's past franchisee relation problems.

Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on July 30, 2008 (boomark / email).