Contracts - McDonald's Corp. v. Markin, Inc.: Renewal of Franchise Agreements
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Authors
Begley, David D.
Issue Date
1982
Volume
15
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|In McDonald's Corp. v. Markim, Inc., the Nebraska Supreme Court determined the proper application of contract principles to the franchise-or-franchisee business relationship. The court also considered, although tangentially, the Nebraska Franchise Practices Act. A divided court reaffirmed the proposition that a person may do business, or refuse to do business, with whomever he desires. In doing so, the court construed a renewal clause which required McDonald's to give the present franchisee "first consideration" before awarding the franchise to another as a nullity. The dissent, authored by Chief Justice Krivosha, applied two principles of contract construction: first, a contract must be construed most strongly against the draftsman, and second, parties to a commercial contract must not have intended to draft a meaningless term. The dissent also recognized implicitly that when the draftsman of a contract has greater bargaining strength, the rule of interpreting the contract most strongly against the draftsman is strictly applied....
Description
Citation
15 Creighton L. Rev. 196 (1981-1982)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law