Miller V. McDonald’s Corporation

Joe H. Steve

June 16, 2008

Business Law II

Miller v. McDonald’s Corporation

Issue: Is the McDonald’s Corporation liable for the damages sustained by Joni Miller in a local Tigard Oregon McDonald’s.

Rule: In order for McDonald’s Corporation to be liable there would have to be some type of partnership established between McDonald’s Corporation and 3K Corporation.

Analysis: A partnership is a business association consisting of two or more persons, who co-own a business for profit.  Miller assumed that the local McDonald’s was owned and operated by the McDonald’s Corporation or some type of partnership existed, since it appearance and menu were comparable to that of other McDonald’s restaurant.  Miller stated she went to the Tigard McDonald’s because she relied on defendant’s quality of service, standard of care in food preparation, and general attention to detail that she had previously enjoyed at other McDonald’s restaurants.  The defense stated it was not liable because 3K Corporation owns the restaurant under a License Agreement with McDonald’s that required 3K to operate in a manner consistent with the McDonald’s System.  This system includes proprietary rights in trademarks, “designs and color schemes” for restaurant buildings and signs, and specifications for certain food products as well as other business practices and policies.  3K, as the licensee, agreed to adopt and exclusively use the business practices of McDonald’s.  Despite these detailed instructions, the Agreement provided that 3K was not an agent of McDonald’s for any purpose.  Rather it was an independent contractor, a person who contracts with another to do a particular job and who is not subject to the control of the other.  3K was responsible for all obligations and liabilities, including claims based on injury, illness, or death directly or indirectly resulting from the operation of the restaurant.