LOS ANGELES, May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- A decision by the California Appellate Court here Friday (May 23) reversed the 2007 decision by a Los Angeles Superior Court that had granted motions by United Parcel Service and Mail Boxes Etc., Inc. (MBE) for summary judgments against its franchisees.
"The Court of Appeals gave us a total victory. The court reversed every single claim that UPS/MBE made, and awarded costs on appeal to the plaintiffs. This is a complete repudiation of UPS' and MBE's position and was the last major hurdle for us," stated Howard Spanier. "Now UPS must face a public trial, where UPS and MBE will be forced to explain their anti-franchisee actions in front of a jury. We can't wait to finally have our day in court," he added.
Spanier is the owner of Malibu Business & Shipping Center, which had previously been a Mail Boxes Etc. "The reason I am no longer a Mail Boxes Etc. is that UPS blocked my renewal as an MBE despite my franchise agreement allowing me to do so. They would only allow me to renew as a UPS Store. I considered that option to be financial suicide, since under the UPS Store business model profit is totally controlled by UPS."
Spanier is also President of the Platinum Shield Association (PSA), one of three franchisee associations litigating against UPS. PSA has been involved in the lawsuit with UPS since 2003.
Other former MBE franchisees were also forced to go independent. Glenn Sturgis of Montpelier, Vermont is one of them. He is a PSA member and is now the owner of Capitol Copy in Montpelier, after being blocked by UPS from renewing as an MBE. "The latest bullying tactic by UPS against its 'Mom & Pop' franchisees is, after blocking their renewal as an MBE, to close their UPS retail shipping account. Clearly, UPS wants to further disrupt the relationship franchisees have with their customers and thus cut off a source of revenue." Sturgis continued, "First UPS destroyed our franchise brand and now UPS has tried to drive us out of business. We are committed to our cause and look forward to having our day in court and demonstrating the unlawful acts of UPS. This cynical, indifferent bully corporation will be brought to justice."
The five-year-old lawsuit alleges among other charges UPS' intentional destruction of the Mail Boxes Etc. franchise brand and business system, violation of the MBE franchise agreements, fraud and anti-competitive actions by UPS in its creation of the UPS Store franchise system.
This decision is the third time that the California Court of Appeals has reversed the lower court and upheld the case of the UPS/MBE franchisees. The previous decision by the Court of Appeals was to grant certification of a national class action against UPS on behalf of the UPS Store franchisees.
For a copy of the full court decision, please click on the link http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.gov/search/case/disposition.cfm?dist=2&doc_ id=1134683 (Due to the length of the URL, please copy and paste the link into an Internet browser).
