LATHROP AND GAGE: Lighten Up & Enjoy Your Lucre (Part 2)

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• It would be nice for Lathrop and Gage to be concerned about the important issue at hand, such as their clients using Master franchisees as scapegoats to steal from Unit franchisees and then in the grand scheme of things" robbing" both the Masters and Unit franchisees.

• Interesting point. Since Lathrop and Gage attorneys obviously read every comment posted here, perhaps they could share their thoughts with us.

  Lathrop & Gage: When you are hired by an obviously corrupt client like Stratus Franchising, etc., do you ever suggest to them that instead of engaging in legal trickery, perhaps they should stop doing the unethical crap that got them in trouble in the first place?

  Lathrop & Gage: Have you ever suggested to your client that they should actually consider doing the right thing and pay back the Masters and unit franchisees they so obviously misled and ripped off - at least partially? Wouldn't that be the legally ethical thing to do, rather than keep them on this path that is just making things worse and worse for them?

  Or would that be bad for your bottom line?

• @ Ex-Stratus Franchisee- The "Poodles" have no morals, they are your typical criminal defense attorneys in the case of Stratus Franchising, LLC and their primary owners- Pete Frese and Dennis Jarrett. They are doing their best Globe Trotters show by attempting to fool the court, the remaining Masters and the Viewers into looking one way, while the ball is actually underneath Curley's Shorts! Problem for them is, they aren't the Globe Trotters. There is a core problem at Stratus Franchising, LLC. They LIE! Not just to unsuspecting owner-operators, but to Masters, to Customers, to their employee's and literally to themselves.

  @ Guest- Yes, they have someone monitoring this site daily, in some cases this is how they are getting information that Pete/DJ have hidden from them, especially in regards to Jarrett Realty. Until it appeared here, they didn't even know it existed nor the problems obviously associated with that. So in all honesty, it is kind of an "enlightening" experience for them. Until the people from Pro2FS sent them a 22 page statement of facts, they didn't know about the past harmed masters, the problems with the FDD, the problems with the Performa, the problems with the financials and countless other things including broken contracts etc...

  So let us do a recap in regards to how poorly the "Poodles" have been out flanked, out witted, out smarted and now are crying foul to the courts, the very courts mind you that they have snubbed their nose at! (Dog Pun Intended!) Because, they had so little faith in this particular judge to understand their wealth of knowledge, experience and thought process they felt SHE was too Stupid to understand the case, that is why they wanted to MOVE IT to Federal Court. Now, I don't know this judge at all, but I have a feeling that whenever someone wants to mvoe an action from a particular judge's court to another, it doesn't sit well with them too often....

  Another Brainless Act by the "Poodles" is the argument that they wanted to Bring in the Masters on the one hand, then when I let it "slip" yesterday that their are now at least two (2) attorneys reaching out to various Masters attempting to "line them up" to respond to Fortman's case and while there, why don't the "fence sitters" entertain giving up six (6) month's worth of royalty payments in order to break away from this nonsense surrounding Stratus Franchising, LLC and Pete/DJ directly.

  Another Brainless Act by the "Poodles" is the fact they attempted to "smooth talk" a group of disgruntled Masters on a conference call so they could explain how smart they are, how stupid Fortman was and how they were going to be PARTNERS with the Masters. Problem for them was, they were too stupid to realize that their comments in court, their filings in Federal Court were already posted and part of the Public Record in which one of the HERO's READ to the GROUP as the "Poddle in Charge" was aghast!

  The final Brainless Act by the "Poodles" was even taking this case in the first place without doing their homework and without researching their clients history well enough to realize they were dealing with a bi-polar, thief, cheat that had a long history of antics just like these at Coverall. (DJ) and they were also dealing with a cheat, liar, womanizing, superior thinking SOB, who would rather steal from someone (Jan-Pro) than even make up their own Spread Sheets, Training Manuals, Support Materials, FDD's, Contracts etc... (Pete).

  Now FENCE SITTERS, These are YOUR Partners! If you think I'm Relentless against them, just wait until I turn my sights on those of you that happen to decide to continue working with them......Remember my old saying, "laying with dogs, will always get you fleas"! and these guys are nothing but Dog's. These guys must be stopped, they cannot, must not be allowed to harm anyone else.

  Let me ask you a question, How many employee's have been harmed by the fact that these two, along with Bill Blair, David Farrell and Bob Stapleton all told you that your salespeople weren't producing, your telemarketers weren't producing because they weren't meeting the PERFORMA!

  Let me ask you a question, How many more Masters need to be harmed before it is enough? What about New Mexico, What about Minnesota, What about Richmond, What about Las Vegas, What about North Texas, What about Central New Jersey?

  Let me ask you a question, How many more Unit-Franchisees/Owner-Operators need to be harmed before it is enough? Fortman claims (have to use that word) that he represents approx. 100, we know for a fact there are at least another 50 in the Goldeneye Case and we know for a fact there are more.

  Let me ask you a question, If you wouldn't bring Pete/DJ around YOUR Family, around your Children, To your house, WHY in the HELL would you allow them to go into someone Elses?

  Let me ask you a question, If you wouldn't bring Pete/DJ around to your employee's, to your owner-operators, to your customers, WHY would you allow them to continue operating Stratus Franchising, LLC.

  Legitimate Questions, deserve answers. Sitting on your hands, makes you a coward. Sitting on your pocket books, makes you a culpable thief in my opinion.

• I've been laying low for a while just sitting back and taking this all in. I think you'll see that I was quiet even before these motions were filed. The reason for that was that once it became clear the Masters would need to be added, I could not communicate directly with them. Reasoned Source told me months and months ago in a post that I was guided by emotion. He's right. I have a passion for this work and want to give a voice to those who were previously powerless.

  The goal is to make the playing field more level. I bear all of the risk because these people have nothing more to give. In these cases, we are up against law firms with resources that dwarf mine. However, no one will fight harder for their clients than me. With that being said, I do not want my actions to detract from the real issues in this case. The Unit Franchisees simply want their day in court. This case does not need to become a juvenile battle more suited for a junior-high playground.

  I post on this site because I truly believe it is the only site that allows for accurate dissemination of information related to problem franchise systems. I admire the administrator because he is a man of character and has taken positions that are not popular in the franchise world of which he is a part. He does that because it is the right thing to do. Without this site, many faulty franchise systems would go unchallenged. The predecessor site was the only reason our case against Contours Express went forward.

  Many times, I read posts concerning other franchise systems. I read them as a way of maintaining the strength to continue the fight. It can be hard at times to do this work. I don't have unlimited resources and I have a family to support. However, this site gets me to focus once again. In any franchise, the franchisees are at a disadvantage. The law does not favor them and the franchisor has a lot more money. I see my role as to standing up for those franchisees who have been beaten down and feel hopeless.

  Today I sent a letter to the attorneys for Stratus. In that letter, I apologized for anything I posted which may have offended them. I did not do that because of the motion and I did not do that because I believe I did anything wrong. I did that because as an attorney, I try to live by the highest ethical and moral standards. I have always tried to take the high road and will continue to do that. We have a court system in place to resolve disputes. I still fully believe in my clients cause and I still believe that at the end of the day my clients will be vindicated. My role in this case is to gather the evidence and present it to the court in such a way that will prove my case. The personal animosity between attorneys in any case is detrimental to the search for truth.

  I have my opinions which are based on my perceptions. This case started with some fairly severe criticism against me and my clients. It put me in a position where I felt I needed to fight back to set the record straight. I believe the events of the past few months have done that without the need for further comment from me. If they proceed with their Motion for Sanctions tomorrow, I will tell the judge that I will cease posting anything other than factual information based on documents filed in the court. I will cease giving my commentary based upon my opinion. After all, my opinion really doesn't matter. The court will make its decision based on the facts we can prove, not what Fortman thinks. I do not believe keeping everyone updated on the progress of this case is improper. It is no different than a reporter writing a story in the newspaper.

  Anyway, I do admire people such as Reasoned Source. He is as passionate as I am about this case. I enjoy reading everything posted here. The Contours case proved to me the importance of open dialogue. The franchisor monitored the comments on a daily basis. I will continue to post. The prior firm threatened me based upon my blog site. I did not back down. I am not backing down now. Instead, I'm taking a path this is right for my clients. My passion for the cause I am advocating is still present and will never leave.

  Thanks for all your positive comments. I've also been getting emails of support which mean a lot to me. Opposing Counsel in these cases may make more money that me, but when someone who has lost everything sends me an email thanking me for standing up for them, I know I'm in the right place.

  Peace out,

  Jon

• @ Fortman: I wish you nothing but Luck today! I know you don't need it, but it I wanted to wish it for you...

  @ The "Poodles" unlike Fortman, I have little ethics....I have plenty of fight and passion as he will attest. The "attack" on you and your clients has been nothing compared to what I have in store for you moving forward....

  @ The "Viewers" unlike others currently in the system, I have no sympathy for you nor your plight to simply "stay the course" and agree with the thieves, liars, scam artests that are Pete/DJ. There is a much higher purpose here then simply causing Pete/DJ a little bit of pain both in the headaches that I offer them and the money out of their pocketbooks.

  THEY caused this problem, THEY are to be held accountable for their actions. THEY have caused REAL HARM to people all across the board. This must be stopped, this cannot be allowed to continue, those of you that think this will "blow over" are sadly mistaken. I find it very telling that the only one's "defending" Stratus Franchising, LLC happen to be the people that don't know any better or are simply as EVIL as them, such as Los Angeles, Houston and Philadelphia.

  LOOK at the people that Stratus Franchising, LLC has surrounded themselves with...... Look at the the lack of quality, integrity, industry experience, passion, desire....THOSE are your Partners/ your support TEAM!

  Look at what HARM has been documented and undisputed:

  Harm done to former Masters- Loss of Hundreds of Thousands, Millions possible in License Agreement Money, Overhead Money, Employee's Hired/Fired, Owner-Operators brought into their respective offices, most paid monies upfront and when those offices closed, left with nothing! Let's add that I bet their were employee's of those owner-operators that were affected as well.

  Harm done to current Masters- Loss of Hundreds of Thousands of dollars in Fees paid into a system that literally gave them NO Support, Lied to them about Affiliated Services, were so unethical that for three plus years they didn't disclose ALL/ANY Open/Closed Branches, Transferred Branches, former Masters etc.

  Harm done to Employee's of Current Masters- HOW many of you fired people based upon the fact that they didn't meet the PERFORMA and/or recommendations made by people such as Bill Blair, David Farrell, Marvin Ashton and Pete/DJ themselves.

  This is not the time, to look the other way. This is not the time, to allow these men to continue an unethical at best, criminal operation at worst. This is not the time to allow, for small Masters who have little to no knowledge of the system because they haven't been in it long enough, have too small of a territory to understand what the larger one's have gon through, or are simply like Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Houston people without a moral compass themselves to speak on behalf of Stratus.

  Most of the MAJOR Masters have left or in the process of leaving the system. The only one left, that has a MAJOR status has ALL the power in the system as we speak. He is by far the largest Master, He is by far the one with the most cities up and running left, He is by far paying the most Royalties.....WHEN are you going to stand up for the people you should, the owner-operators you have and put the true final nail in Stratus Franchising, LLC?

  Just my thoughts, Full of Passion, Supported by Facts/Documents, No REASON for leading the way, Just Relentless!

• Best of luck, Jon. If you have to curtail your participation here, fear not. We will keep the dialogue going and the information flowing no matter what (Thank god bloggers aren't bound by professional ethics or codes of conduct ;))

  The most significant group of victims we're advocating for has not even been mentioned yet: future victims of master janitorial scams.

  This best outcome of this Stratus situation would be to send a strong message that the game is up, the con is exposed, and those who have been running this con-game for years in multiple companies now need to find a more respectable line of work... like loan sharking, say, multilevel marketing or used car sales.

  In following franchise scams for years, I've learned that once guys like this taste the easy money of the con game, it's like a drug. They learn that in most cases they can just set up again with a new name, as Frese and Jarrett did with Stratus. They learn that they can throw some money around, and Entrepreneur magazine will heap on awards and praises, The IFA will say they're a great opportunity for returning Veterans, and all the portals like Franchise Gator will gladly drum up leads for future victims.

  As long as they sufficiently drain the victims financially, keep them from talking to each other, position the masters as scapegoats, hide the failure rates in the hodge-podge they are allowed to create in their FDDs, and diligently use the gag-orders, confidentiality and other clauses in their legal arsenal, they can rake in the dough with impunity... right?

  Hopefully, we can bash this polished machine with multiple crowbars, and using the courts and the Internet call enough attention to it that others will bash away at it, too, as they are doing to Coverall in MA. What's exciting about the Stratus case is that the Masters are rising up, too, and saying enough is enough.

• @ Fortman, know I cannot properly fill your shoes, but here is a general breakdown of what transpired today in court..... Fortman's petition for amended complaint by adding the Masters, was accepted by the court. The "poodles" attempted to get sanctions, judge agreed to take it under advisement. The "poodles" claimed that it was unfair and unprofessional for Fortman to "publish" and make unfair statements against them (Poodles) and against Stratus Franchising, LLC. Judge basically agreed with their request.

  @ Viewers, at the end of the day, the "poodles" got exactly what they wanted and I am not talking about Fortman. When are you going to "wake up" and "smell the roses". Stratus Franchising, LLC and the "Poodles" have all along wanted the Masters enjoined in the case, they blamed the Masters vs. Stratus Franchising, LLC for the issues surrounding the unit franchisees harmed vs. taking responsibility about the GLARING problems with the model and the knowledge they had from nearly a decade of experience in this specific industry about the past lawsuits, judgements, problems with the model. NOW, they are stating without a doubt that the individual MASTERS are the issue. They tried to "shuck and jive" on the conference call, they tried to move it to Federal Court, they now have the MASTERS exactly where they want them.

  Now, they will state that the entire issue is Fortman's fault for bringing this lawsuit in the first place. No offense, that simply isn't true. If it weren't for Fortman, the issues, the lies, the ethical issues, the fraud that has been committed by these men wouldn't have come to light this quickly or this much force and passion.

  There is a reason why Buffalo, Rochester, CT, Jacksonsville, Atlanta have left the system.

  There is a reason that a multi-site Master located in the Mid-Atlantic Region is attempting to leave.

  There is a reason that a 1.5 Million dollar Master in that same Region is attempting to leave.

  There is a reason that a multi-state Master in the Midwest is attempting to leave.

  There is a reason that there are at least two Masters located in the West are attempting to leave.

  There is a reason that their have been lawsuits envolving Masters in Florida and Oregon respectfully

  There is a reason that the FTC has complaints on file.

  There is a reason that Goldeneye sued Stratus Franchising, LLC including some of its "key people".

  There is a reason that the "scum" that is/was Fernando was not only attractive to Stratus Franchising, LLC. but to another Master who just happen to "pull out" of the system in San Diego and was so attractive that Marvin Ashton, Dennis Jarrett and Carmen Garcia were all "in the hunt" per comments made by Guest 3.

  There is a reason that more and more Masters are looking for seperation by either negotiated means or legal remedies in addition to the one's listed above.

  I am calling out the largest remaining Master known to still be paying his Royalties, I have heard that you are a good man overall, that you and members of your family don't like what you are hearing, seeing, feeling in regards to Stratus Franchising, LLC. It is past time to do the "right thing". There is no real power with the advisory committee as directly pointed out by Pete Frese himself.

  Masters, this is the truth that is going on the system. It isn't hard to verify facts, simply pick up the phone and start asking questions.

• @ Viewers, I heard through a legal source, that a former Master whom shall remain nameless, is having issues with sleeping, anxiety attacks etc.. over his role as a "validator" for Stratus Franchising, LLC and the harm that he feels he may have done.

  Here is a good man, having struggles with what he did which was simply report what was going on in his business and his direct relationship with Stratus Franchising, LLC and HE has a guilty complex.... I feel for this person, he runs his organization well both as a Stratus Master and as a current Pro2FS partner. He has morals, he has feelings, he has an ethical business practice and by all accounts has treated his customers well, his employees well, his "partners" well and his owner-operators well.

  How is it that Marissa Lather, Marvin Ashton, David Farrell, Bill Blair, Bob Stapleton, Dennis Jarrett and Pete Frese aren't showing ANY level of remorse for what they have done, yet this man, that helped ALL of us, is?

  The "Poodles" are wondering openly in court, in conversations with others, in conversations with Pete/DJ exactly WHO I AM! Let me be clear, I wish no physical harm to anyone, at the end of the day, this is all going to be settled in the courts, both civil and hopefully criminal. There will be fines levied by the FTC for sure, due to the financial state of Stratus Franchising, LLC that in and of itself might be the final nail in this business coffin. These men/women listed above have done great harm financially, emotionally and in some cases physically with the lack of sleep, anxiety attacks and other medical issues brought on by the financial pressure and in some cases devastation caused by DJ/Pete directly and supported, viewed and accepted by Marissa, Bill, David, Bob, Marvin, Carmen and others.

  Keep your chins up VIEWERS! I can feel some things moving in the right direction......

• Wow, Has it been a year already? Guess it is time for "ole reasoned source" to rise from the ashes much like Dennis Jarrett believes is still possible in regards to Stratus Building Solutions!!!!! Maybe I'm delusional too?.......

  Maybe someone should ask Dennis Jarrett and Pete Frese why they hired a certain someone at Lathrop and Gage whom we will refer too as "Double D"....I think I know, it is to attempt one of two things or quite possibly both of the following:

  a) To blame the former Master in that case (Who is in Bankruptcy both individually and as a company) for everything in the world including the missing Lindberg Baby?

  b) To utilize it as a "test case"....Fraud is difficult if not impossible to prove, yet DJ and Pete have been accused of Fraud how many times and how many ways now?

  More on "Double D" in the near future. BTW he is a full partner, probably costing $650.00/hr or so in billing!

• Someone asked me if I was concerned about DJ? My response was the girls/women that dance on the poles that he loves to "play with" are better connected than he is...He is simply a Pawn and Mark.

  However, I am concerned more and more about "DD". He seems to be a man held in great "respect" and to be "respected"...Could it be that DJ and Pete have made a deal to "clean" something other than office buildings through their St. Louis Branch?

  Are the remaining "Good Masters" that are still paying their dues and royalties in cities/States such as:

  New Jersey
  Parts of North and South Carolina
  Ohio
  Nashville
  Iowa
  Colorado
  Part of Utah
  Part of California

  So uniformed, that they think that the lawsuits, the additional threats of lawsuits, the breaking away of over 50% of the Masters in the past year were the fault of someone other than DJ and Pete?

  People's lives have been destroyed, People have been destroyed and YOU are still paying your Royalty and Dues?????????

  Is "DD" a man to fear vs. respect? More to come on this "Breaking News"!!!!!