Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell represents franchisors, manufacturers, and distributors in disputes with their franchisees or dealers, or in matters related to their distribution networks. We have tried cases before federal and state courts and administrative agencies from Alaska to North Carolina.  

We have helped resolve disputes involving all facets of the relationship between franchisors and franchisees, including dealer fraud, establishments, terminations, relocations, franchise modifications, product introductions, and allocation of products. Beyond federal and state dealer-based or franchise-based statutory claims, our practice routinely involves defending the common law claims that typically accompany those franchise-act-based statutory claims, such as business torts, breach of contract, bad faith, and RICO.

Our role as co-national trial counsel for a major motor-vehicle manufacturer and national trial counsel for a major motor-vehicle distributor has helped hone our skills in varied venues and forums throughout the country. Just in the past few years, we:

• have been successful in dealer termination actions in California and Nevada;
• won a multi-million dollar judgment of actual and punitive damages against a dealer based on fraudulent warranty claims; and
• were victorious in a commercial case in Anchorage with claimed damages of several million dollars.

Following is a representative sample of the franchise and distribution cases tried by WTO lawyers.