Dunkin' Donuts Franchised Restaurants, LLC v. 330545 Donuts, Inc.

After winning 1 a $90,000 arbitration award, a corporate plaintiff pursued a trial de novo, which resulted in a defense verdict. This appeal concerns the defendant’s attempt to use the arbitration statute to pin attorney’s fees on the individual who controlled the corporate plaintiff. We affirm the trial court’s refusal to hold the individual liable for fees; by stipulation, the individual had been voluntarily dismissed from the lawsuit before trial, so that, under the applicable statute, he was not a “party” subject to a fee award.

Manoochehr Fallah Moghaddam had a franchisee relationship…