In its January 31, 2025, ruling in Coryell v. Morris, No. 1977 EDA 2021, the Pennsylvania Superior Court presented a standard for vicarious liability for franchise companies that could expose many, if not all, franchisors to liability for the acts of their franchisees and those franchisees' employees.
In the ruling, the Superior Court affirmed a jury's finding that multinational pizza chain Domino's was vicariously liable for the negligence of its franchisee's employee, a pizza delivery driver who hit and seriously injured the plaintiff in a traffic accident.
To reach its conclusion that Domino's was vicariously liable for the franchisee's employee's negligence, the court examined whether Domino's had day-to-day control over the franchisee's operations and analyzed the features of an agency relationship that are sufficient to support a finding of such control. The court concluded that the level of control Domino's retained over its franchisee "exceeded mere protection of its brand and trademark" and subjected the franchisee "to Domino's will as to the minutia" of the store's staffing and operations.
Examples of Domino's control over the store operations of its franchisee that...
