Friendly's - Legal Issues

Legal Issues

In 2003, Prestley filed a lawsuit against Friendly Ice Cream Corporation and chairman Donald Smith in a derivative action to force the money back to the company which Blake claimed it was improperly paid for use of a private jet. Blake accused Smith of using the jet for personal use and using the airplane lease to carry $3 million annually from the company into another restaurant chain he controlled.

According to the Marler Clark Attorney Network, "in June of 2004, a food worker at a Friendly's restaurant in Arlington, Massachusetts was diagnosed with hepatitis A, a virus that can cause acute liver failure. Health officials estimated that more than 3,800 people were at risk for developing hepatitis A infection after dining at the restaurant. In mid-June, more than 3,000 people exposed to the hepatitis A virus at Friendly's lined up at an area clinic to receive immune globulin ("Ig") shots to prevent hepatitis A infection. When administered within 14 days of exposure to the virus, Ig is effective in preventing – or at least reducing the symptoms of – hepatitis A infection. Many of the people who lined up for shots were initially turned away and due to a lack of Ig and had to return later. Marler Clark filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of customers and employees of the Friendly's restaurant who were exposed to the hepatitis A virus. Friendly's and Marler Clark resolved the case in 2005."