On July 11, the Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed a $350,000 jury verdict obtained by Gray Reed attorneys Ken Stone and Jonathan Hyman on behalf of Jani-King International, Inc. in a suit against its former New York franchisee.

The court affirmed the jury’s findings that the franchisee breached both the royalty payment and non-compete provisions of the parties' franchise agreement and that the franchisee’s counterclaims were meritless. 

Stone has over 25 years of experience handling litigation matters, for both plaintiffs and defendants, including commercial cases, construction cases, product liability cases as well as assorted other professional negligence claims.  With over 12 years of experience, Hyman has obtained favorable verdicts, arbitration awards, and settlements on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of complex business litigation matters spanning a multitude of industries.  In recent years, Hyman has focused on energy litigation, franchise disputes, international arbitration, and representing  employers in employee compensation and non-competition disputes.

Jani-King is the world's largest commercial cleaning franchise company with over 13,000 franchise owners worldwide. Founded in 1969, the company has over 120 regional offices in 17 countries. Through a network of regional support offices, Jani-King contracts commercial cleaning services for many different facilities including healthcare, office, hotel/resort, manufacturing, restaurant, and sporting venues. The company has consistently ranked as the top performer among commercial cleaning franchise businesses. 

About Gray Reed

Founded in 1985, Gray Reed & McGraw is a full-service, Texas based law firm with more than 100 lawyers practicing in Houston and Dallas. Gray Reed & McGraw offers a wide range of legal services including business litigation, corporate transactions, oil & gas, tax planning and litigation, real estate, healthcare, trusts and estates, employment law, family law, and bankruptcy.