Collo vs McDo

News

McDonald's, franchising,
the lawsuits

The Collorafi case file is not an isolated case: it is part of a history — that of the franchise agreement, of the disputes that have shaped it, and of the cases that have marked McDonald's around the world. These articles report the facts and cite their sources. They do not take sides.

Major lawsuits · 1 October 2026 Behind McDonald's broken ice cream machines, a 900-million-dollar lawsuit A start-up had designed a device to diagnose faults in Taylor ice cream machines remotely. McDonald's asked its franchisees to stop using it, before launching its own device. Kytch accuses it of copying its technology. Read the article › Offbeat The McDonald's Monopoly game was rigged for twelve years — by the man in charge of securing it From 1989 to 2001, a former police officer in charge of security for the promotional game diverted the winning tickets to a network of accomplices. McDonald's itself was never suspected: it was the victim. 25 September 2026 Offbeat Jamie Oliver's fake lawsuit against McDonald's Since 2018, an image has been circulating on social media: the British chef supposedly had McDonald's convicted for selling “highly toxic” food. No court has ever ruled on this case, for a simple reason: it never existed. 19 September 2026 Offbeat “McJob”: McDonald's lost battle against the dictionaries In 2003, the word entered Merriam-Webster. The CEO of McDonald's called it a “slap in the face”. Four years later, the British subsidiary collected 105,000 signatures to have the Oxford English Dictionary definition changed. Neither dictionary changed anything. 7 September 2026 History Ray Kroc and the McDonald brothers: what is established, and what comes from the film The story of a milkshake machine salesman who supposedly swindled two naive brothers is famous today. It comes largely from a 2016 film. Here is what the sources actually allow us to state. 1 September 2026 Offbeat The Big Mac Index: a joke that became a global standard In 1986, The Economist invented an exchange-rate index based on the price of a hamburger. The newspaper presented it as “a light-hearted guide”. Today it appears in economics textbooks and has been the subject of some twenty academic studies. 26 August 2026 Employment law Marseille: when the end of a lease-management agreement transfers the employees to McDonald's France The dispute at the Saint-Barthélémy McDonald's ended in compulsory liquidation. A discreet legal mechanism — the termination of the lease-management agreement (location-gérance) — transferred some sixty employees from the franchisee to the brand. 20 August 2026 Franchise law What European law allows a franchisor to impose Since the Pronuptia judgment of 1986, a franchise agreement is neither lawful nor unlawful as a whole: it is assessed clause by clause. The 2022 regulation puts figures on the limits — and, curiously, never uses the word “franchise”. 14 August 2026 Franchise law Breaking off without warning: what the Commercial Code forbids the franchisor No one can demand the renewal of their contract. But breaking off an established commercial relationship without sufficient notice makes the party responsible liable. Two rules that coexist, and that are often confused. 8 August 2026 Employment law Is the franchisor the employer of its franchisee's employees? Ten years without an answer In 2014, the US labour authority sought a ruling that McDonald's was a joint employer in its franchised restaurants. Twelve years later, the question has never been decided — and the applicable rule has returned to its starting point. 2 August 2026 Trade marks Who owns the “Mc” prefix? What the courts have answered A “McSleep” hotel, a Malaysian “McCurry” curry, a “McChina” Chinese caterer. McDonald's sued. The decisions handed down around the world do not all point in the same direction. 27 July 2026 Major lawsuits In the United States, franchisees sue McDonald's — and organise Since 2020, former African-American franchisees have been suing the company for discrimination in the allocation of restaurants. The proceedings are pending, the allegations undecided. In parallel, US operators have created their first independent association. 21 July 2026 Major lawsuits The clauses that prevented a McDonald's employee from going to work at the McDonald's next door Until 2017, every McDonald's franchise agreement in the United States prohibited a franchisee from hiring another's employee. An employee sued. Eight years of proceedings later, no judge has ruled on the merits. 15 July 2026 Case law Good faith and the termination clause: what the Court of Cassation reviews, and what it does not A termination clause relieves the judge of assessing the seriousness of the breach. But it does not relieve the creditor of acting in good faith when invoking it. It is this dividing line, drawn since 1995, that the Paris Court of Appeal applied in 2000. 12 July 2026 The model Fees, rent, advertising: how McDonald's makes money from its franchisees Ninety-five per cent of McDonald's restaurants are franchised. The group's 2024 annual report states in black and white the lever designed in the 1950s: ownership of the premises. 12 July 2026 History Raymond Dayan: the first McDonald's in France, and the lawsuit that erased it The first restaurant under the McDonald's brand in France opened in Créteil in 1972. It was operated by an independent licensee. Ten years later, the company withdrew the brand from him — and an Illinois court upheld the termination, laying down a harsh rule for franchisees. 12 July 2026 Franchise law The loi Doubin: what a franchisor must disclose before the contract is signed Since 1989, the head of the network must give the candidate a disclosure document twenty days before signature. What the law requires exactly — and why failure to comply does not automatically void the contract. 12 July 2026 Major lawsuits McLibel: the longest trial in English legal history McDonald's sues two activists with no income over a leaflet. Three hundred and thirteen days of hearings later, the company wins — then the European Court of Human Rights rules against the United Kingdom. 12 July 2026 Major lawsuits Stella Liebeck's scalding coffee: what the lawsuit really said about the franchisor Having become the American emblem of the “frivolous lawsuit”, the 1994 case is first and foremost a franchise case: the complaint targeted the franchised restaurant and McDonald's Corporation, which it accused of imposing the coffee temperature. 12 July 2026 Taxation 1.25 billion euros: McDonald's France's 2022 tax settlement In June 2022, McDonald's agreed to pay around 1.25 billion euros to end tax fraud proceedings. At the heart of the case: the doubling, in 2009, of the fee paid by French restaurants to a Luxembourg subsidiary. 12 July 2026 Major lawsuits Pelman v. McDonald's: when obesity came to court Two teenage girls from the Bronx sued McDonald's in 2002. The judge dismissed the case: “Nobody is forced to eat at McDonald's.” But he left a door open — and the court of appeals rushed through it. 12 July 2026 Trade marks Big Mac v. Supermac's: what McDonald's really lost In 2019, the press reported that McDonald's had lost its “Big Mac” trade mark. That is inaccurate. What the General Court of the European Union actually took away from the company in 2024 was chicken — and restaurant services. 12 July 2026 Offbeat Don Gorske, 35,000 Big Macs: the man McDonald's did not order Since 17 May 1972, an American from Wisconsin has eaten Big Macs almost every day. He holds a world record, and he appears in “Super Size Me” — as a counter-example. 12 July 2026

These articles are background documents, separate from the 87 documents of the case, which are the originals added to the case file.