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Case Brief: Kerl v. Rasmussen (2004) 273 Wis. 2d 106, 682 N.W. 2d 328 The facts in this case are that Harvey Pierce ambushed and shot Robin Kerl and her fiancé David Jones in the parking lot of a Madison Wal-Mart where Kerl and Jones worked. Kerl was seriously injured in the shooting, and Jones was killed. Pierce, who was Kerl’s former boyfriend, then shot and killed himself. At the time of the shooting, Pierce was a work-release inmate at the Dane County jail who was employed at a nearby Arby’s restaurant operated by Dennis Rasmussen, INC. Pierce had left work without permission at the time of the attempted murder and murder/suicide. Kerl and Jones’ estate sued DRI and Arby’s, INC. As in pertinent to this appeal, the plaintiffs alleged …show more content…

We hold that a franchisor may be subject to vicarious liability for the tortuous conduct of its franchisee only if the franchisor had control or a right of control over the daily operation of the specific aspect of the franchisee’s business that is alleged to *135 have caused the harm. Because Arby’s did not have control or a right of control over DRI’s supervision of its employees, there was no master/servant relationship between Arby’s and DRI for purposes of the plaintiffs’ respondeat superior claim against Arby’s. Arby’s cannot be held vicariously liable for DRI’s negligent supervision of Pierce. The advantage of Arby’s being a franchise is that it has Brand Recognition. Most if not all franchises are well-known companies with established customer bases. Owning a franchise instead of starting up a new business saves you the time and effort of building a reputation and attracting customers. Franchises also receive support from corporate headquarters in a number of areas including marketing, training and even financing. Corporate headquarters of large franchises are ready with advice and expertise for making the business the best it can be. Many companies help

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