Formal Clarification RE: Congressional Candidate Keith Gross & DonutNV, Gagging of Veterans

Gross Law Group PLC attorney Robert Vincent, on behalf of congressional candidate Keith Gross, has requested a statement clarifying that I did not accuse his client of any wrongdoing or involvement with franchisor DonutNV Franchising Inc.’s use of NDAs and the practice of gagging America’s Veterans.  I am happy to comply.  by Sean Kelly, Truth for Veterans, Truth for All Initiative

(UnhappyFranchisee.Com)  I received the following Cease & Desist Letter from Attorney Robert Vinson of Gross Law Group PLC on behalf of the firm’s owner and client, congressional candidate for Florida’s second district Keith “Keithly” Gross.

Gross Law Firm Cease & Desist Letter to Sean Kelly, Unhappy Franchisee re: Keith Gross (PDF)

Last week, I emailed Mr. Vinson that, while nothing I had published was defamatory, out of courtesy for candidate Gross and in recognition of his military service I would publicly comply with each of his requests. 

Who is Keith Gross & What is His Connection to DonutNV Franchising, Inc.?

Keith Gross is a franchise attorney, and the founder of the three-attorney firm Gross Law Group PLC, Panama City, FL.  He is married to Scott Marr, the founder of franchise companies Koala Insulation and Wallaby Windows… which he sold to Empower Brands.  He is the founder and current owner of Franchise Altitude, a franchise development firm.

The Franchise Altitude website credits Scott Marr with having provided initial guidance and funding to DonutNV, and with continuing to provide guidance. 

The connection between Scott Marr and DonutNV’s founders Alex and Amanda Gingold is notable since both Koala Insulation and DonutNV outsourced their franchise sales to the controversial FSO Franchise Fastlane, and both were represented to prospective franchisees as “semi-absentee” opportunities requiring a commitment of just 5-10 hours per week.

Some of the same Franchise Fastlane sales representatives represented both Koala Insulation and DonutNV franchises as “Semi-absentee” opportunities.

Both Koala Insulation and DonutNV have active litigation related to these representations in Pennsylvania courts.

According to court records, Keith Gross is the lead attorney in the Koala Franchise, LLC v. Lotus & The Rooster Holdings Company et al  lawsuit on behalf of Koala Insulation against its franchisee Salim Maklouf.

In his counterclaim, Defendant Maklouf claims he was misled that the Koala Insulation franchise could be run “semi-absentee.”

See:

EMPOWER Brands Semi-Absentee Franchise Claims – Discussion Invited

EMPOWER BRANDS Exits Franchise Fastlane.  Will They Exit the “Semi-Absentee Franchise” Pitch as Well?

Keith Gross States That He Does NOT Represent DonutNV, Though His Firm Does

Congressional candidate Keith Gross states that while other attorneys in his firm represent DonutNV Franchising, Inc., he does not represent the mini-donut franchisor and is not involved with their policy of using NDAs and confidentiality agreements to suppress the opinions of franchisees, including Veterans.

We take Mr. Gross at his word and do not dispute that he does not personally represent DonutNV Franchising, Inc.

We Never Stated That Candidate Gross is or Was Guilty of Wrongdoing.

Nothing We Published Should be Interpreted as Implying He Is.

On a GoFundMe page, we briefly proposed the idea of researching the possibility of researching candidate Gross’ relationship with franchise companies known for suing and gagging Veterans.  We received no funding offers for the project and have deleted the related paragraph and graphics.

A website that reports on Florida politics misrepresented our fundraiser mention with a misleading headline.  We asked them to correct the headline, which they did.

If We Saw Evidence of Wrongdoing by Candidate Keith Gross, We Would Say So.

We Have Not.

Unhappy Franchisee & our Truth for Veterans Initiative boldly gives voice to whistleblowers, informs prospective franchise investors and stands up to bullies on a regular basis.

As you can imagine, we receive our fair share of cease & desist letters.

We have no problem complying with Mr. Vinson’s request, and hereby state:

1)  We do not accuse Mr. Gross of being part of any franchise scheme harming Florida veterans; and

2)  Our fundraising language should not be understood to mislead the reader to think Mr. Gross is involved in illegal or improper campaign financing.

We Ask That Gross Law Group LLC, As a Veteran-Owned Law Firm,  Urge Its Franchisor Clients to Stop Witholding Pre-Sale Information From Veterans & Gagging Veterans Once They’re Franchisees

Both Koala Insulation and DonutNV franchisors used Franchise Fastlane to sell their opportunities as semi-absentee opportunities requiring a commitment of only 5-10 hours per month.

Both franchisors now use NDAs and confidentiality agreements to prevent franchisees – including Veterans – from accessing the experiences and opinions of those who signed agreements based on those representations.

We urge Gross Law Group PLC to urge it franchisor clients to honor the spirit of the FTC Franchise Rule and cease the practice of blocking material information and impeding free and tranparent speech.

INVITATION:  This is a discussion site based on the belief that open and honest debate – free from threats – is critical to the functioning of democracy.  All individuals and companies discussed on this site are invited to provide corrections, clarifications, explanations, rebuttals or opinions.  They may do so in the comment section below, by emailing us at UnhappyFranchisee[at]Gmail[dot]com or both.  

Tags: Gross Law Group, PLC, Keith Gross, Keithly Gross, Keith Gross for Congress, Robert Vinson, Attorney Travis,  Koala Insulation, Wallaby Windows, Empower Brands, Baha Mar,  DonutNV, DonutNV franchise, DonutNV lawsuit, DonutNV franchise failures, Alex Gingold, Amanda Gingold, NDAs in franchising, Veterans in franchising, Franchise Truth for Veterans