HONEYBAKED HAM Franchise Complaints

HONEYBAKED HAM Franchise Complaints include understating the initial franchise investment, providing a misleading financial performance representation, bait-and-switching to a new, untested, more expensive concept, approving an inadequate location, insufficient training, bungling a grand opening and killing a potential franchise resale.

Are you familiar with the HoneyBaked Ham & Café franchise concept and The HBH Company, LLC?  Share your opinion – good or bad – with a comment below.

These complaints come from a lawsuit filed July 17, 2013 in The United States District Court of Georgia, Atlanta Division.

The suit was filed by attorneys W. Michael Garner of Minneapolis, MN-based W. MICHAEL GARNER, P.A. and David M. Rhodus of the Johns Creek, Georgia-based RHODUS LAW FIRM, LLC.

The Plaintiffs are HoneyBaked Ham franchise owners Colleen and Gerald Randall.

Here’s an excerpt.  The full complaint is posted below.

The United States District Court of Georgia, Atlanta Division

COLLEEN & GERALD RANDALL ENTERPRISES, LLC, and CATERING GARDENS, LLC, Plaintiffs,

v.

THE HBH FRANCHISE COMPANY, LLC, Defendant.

COMPLAINT

Plaintiffs Colleen & Gerald Randall Enterprises, LLC and Catering Gardens, LLC (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), by their attorneys, for their complaint against Defendant allege as follows.

Nature of Action

1. This is an action by former franchisees of Defendant, The HBH Franchise Company, LLC (“HBH”), the franchisor of HoneyBaked Ham franchises, for fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of contract, unlawful encroachment, violation of the Florida Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and violations of the Florida Franchise Act. In brief, Colleen and Gerald Randall, through their entity Colleen and Gerald Randall Enterprises, LLC purchased a HoneyBaked Ham franchise for a location in Palm Coast, Florida in 2007 on the basis of representations of costs and profitability and of pre-opening assistance to be provided by Defendant that were woefully misleading.

In 2011, in order to achieve economies of scale, through the Randalls’ entity Catering Gardens, LLC, they purchased a second franchise for a location in Palatka, Florida. Unbeknownst to them, however, the territory of the Palatka, Florida store had already been sold to another franchisee.

Late in 2012, the Randalls proposed to sell the Palm Coast and Palatka stores to an employee; HBH agreed to approve the sale, and then wrongfully revoked that approval and refused to permit the transfer. HBH then wrongfully and in breach of contract terminated the Palatka franchise. As a result, the Randalls have lost the value of their investment of $700,000 and the value of the agreement to sell the Palm Coast and Palatka stores for $300,000.

Read the full complaint here:

COLLEEN & GERALD RANDALL ENTERPRISES, LLC, and CATERING GARDENS, LLC v. THE HBH FRANCHISE COMPANY, LLC

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE HONEYBAKED HAM & CAFE FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY?  PLEASE SHARE YOUR OPINION BELOW.

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TAGS: Honeybaked Ham, Honeybaked Ham complaints, Honeybaked Ham franchise complaints, Honey Baked Ham, Honey Baked Ham franchise, HBH Franchise, Honeybaked Ham franchise, HBH Franchise Company, Charles Bengochea, Ken Caldwell, Molly Kesmodel, Jim Squire, Dick Ward, Nick Bunch, Colleen Randall, Gerald Randall, W. Michael Garner, W. MICHAEL GARNER, P.A., RHODUS LAW FIRM, LLC.