BULLIED BY BROKERS: TPF Franchise Brokers SLAPP Consumer Watchdog

Some of those who rake in big commissions and/or referral fees when trusting individuals and families invest their life savings based on their advice don’t appreciate those who share real-life negative outcomes & the true risks of deceptive franchises.  One of those franchise broker firms – The Perfect Franchise – is willing bully, intimidate & sue to prevent the truth from being shared.  by Sean Kelly, SLAPP Defendant.

Please: Contribute to the FREE SPEECH IN FRANCHISING Legal Defense Fund.

Related:  Mark Schnurman, The Perfect Franchise Lawsuit:  Documents & Timeline

It’s been 10 years since the last franchise industry bully sued me and UnhappyFranchisee.Com in an attempt to force us to remove true, non-defamatory, but negative, information about him.

His name was Mark Golob, the former CEO of the defunct Butterfly Life franchise chain.

He claimed that my description of him, in a post of long out of the statute of limitations, of him having a “checkered past” was defamatory.

(He did have a checkered past, FYI).

Responding to the pleading of rock star franchise attorney Peter Lagarias, Judge ruled that my writing was protected speech and that Unhappy Franchisee was a consumer watchdog site serving the public interest.

He dismissed the case a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) and ordered Plaintiff Mark Golob to pay my attorney fees.

Ten years later I am facing an even less credible attempt to bully, silence & subvert freedom of speech & the press.

While I have yet to retain counsel, I am excited to have the support of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the newly passed Pennsylvania anti-SLAPP law on my side (the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act).

Schnurman & The Perfect Franchise LLC v Kelly & Unhappy Franchisee is an Opportunity to Send a Message:  Enough is Enough

In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and NASAA gave franchise owners a near-unprecedented opportunity to expose the devastating personal and financial toll of franchisors, franchise brokers and franchise sales organizations (FSOs).   Dozens of franchise investors of Phoenix Franchise Brands (Fetch! Pet Care, Furry Land Pet Grooming, Spray Foam Genie) shared their horror stories via written public submissions and in-person videos.  Unhappy Franchisee compiled and shared the complaints previously viewable on obscure and hard-to-find government web pages.

 Franchisees of Fetch! Pet Care, Furry Land Pet Grooming, Spray Foam Genie stated that the sales & profit claims, the start-up costs and the description of the businesses as “semi-absentee investor models” shared by brokers are false and deceptive.  As a result, many report having lost their life savings, their retirement accounts and even their homes.

When Unhappy Franchisee notified brokers and broker groups of the 30+ pages still online promoting the allegedly false claims, all but one responded responsibly and immediately deleted the pages:

Guess Who’s Still Promoting Phoenix Franchise Brands? (UPDATED)

Several thanked me for alerting them to the pages they’d missed deleting.

Mark Schnurman, founder of the year-old broker group, denied that The Perfect Franchise had promoted Phoenix Franchise Brands despite the 3 live pages on a site called The Franchise Hotlist Powered by The Perfect Franchise.

Mark Schnurman, The Perfect Franchise, Threatens Me with Legal Action.  For Written Slander.

The day after he disavowed the site for various and contradictory reasons, the site was magically deleted.

We updated the site to give credit for the deletion of the pages.

Still, his attorney Shaun Blick sent me a vaguely worded Cease & Desist letter, then ignored my three subsequent letters requesting clarity:

Mark Schnurman, The Perfect Franchise, Contributes to Our Cease & Desist Letter Collection

Mark Schnurman is Suing to Have His Name & All Mention of The Perfect Franchise Removed From Unhappy Franchisee

Mark Schnurman, who earned a law degree from Ohio State and was once licensed to practice law in FL and NJ, has enlisted Blick Law attorneys Shaun Blick and Eric J. Warner to file a lawsuit for Defamation Per Se, Intentional Interference with Prospective Contractual Relations, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, & Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress.

The suit claims that defamatory statements made by Unhappy Franchisee and Sean Kelly were done so

“with malice… for the sole purpose of causing Plaintiffs to suffer humiliation, mental anguish and emotional distress.”

“Plaintiffs have proof of actual harm caused by this publication by Defendants.
There has been a severe impairment to Plaintiffs’ reputation, so much so, that clients are calling Plaintifs expressing concerns over the publication, which has further caused Plantiff Mark Schnurman to suffer humiliation and deterioration of his own personal reputation…”

 The complaint further claims:

Defendants have caused Plaintiffs to lose a significant amount of business, in the form of prospective and existing clients…

A majority of Plaintiffs’ clients have reached out to Plaintiffs regarding the defamatory Article and expressed their concerns with the information being alleged.

These allegations are false & this attempt at bullying will be vigorously & publicly defeated.

Please Support Unhappy Franchisee & Support  FREE SPEECH in Franchising

Have you been helped by the work of Sean Kelly and Unhappy Franchisee?

Do you value having a safe space where franchisees and others can share their experiences & opinions without fear?

If so, please support us in two ways:

Leave a comment or email a message in support of Unhappy Franchisee that we can show the Judge that we provide a vital service that benefits the public interest.  Explain how we helped you or others that you know.

Make a much-needed financial contribution to our Legal Defense Fund so we can withstand the attacks of those who wish to keep the public in the dark:  Contribute to the FREE SPEECH IN FRANCHISING Legal Defense Fund.

Thank you for your support!

Sean Kelly

Tags: Mark Schnurman, Mark Adam Schnurman, The Perfect Franchise, franchise consultants, franchise brokers, Blick Law, attorney Shaun Blick, attornet Eric J. Warner, Phoenix Franchise Brands, Fetch! Pet Care franchise, Furry Land Grooming franchise, Spray Foam Genie franchise, SLAPP, Strategic Lawuit Against Public Participation, PA, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press