More Quiznos Lawsuits - Franchisee Wins Battle

In September 2006, a mystery shopper visited a Pennsylvania Quiznos store owned by Rich Piotrowski and Ellen Blickman. At the time, Quiznos was in the midst of a major national advertising campaign targeting Subway, using commercials that claimed its Prime Rib Philly Cheeseteak sandwich had twice the meat of a comparable Subway sandwich.

To fend off a Subway lawsuit, Quiznos general counsel Michael Daigle had created a test for all 4,000 Quiznos locations. A mystery shopper would go in, order the Philly sandwich, and then tear it apart to weigh the meat and make sure it was at least 4.5 ounces.

Piotrowski and Blickman's beef weighed in at 4 ounces. Like 300 other franchisees who failed to meet the meat requirements, the couple would soon receive notices terminating their franchise agreements with Quiznos, requiring that they shut down and lose their store.

According to the Denver Westword News, the judge determined that Quiznos had failed to prove any of its claims, which sought damages for breach of contract. Instead, he ruled that Quiznos had in fact breached the contract by wrongfully terminating the defendants, and awarded them $349,797.

Read the full article: Quiznos gets grilled in a Denver court