SNOWDEN et al v. JOHNSON & JOHNSON et al
Plaintiffs: ROY P. SNOWDEN and KIMBERLY M. SNOWDEN
Defendants: JOHNSON & JOHNSON, ORTHO-MCNEIL PHARMACEUTICAL, INC. and JOHNSON & JOHNSON PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, LLC

Case Number: 3:2010cv03510
Filed: July 8, 2010

Court: New Jersey District Court
Office: Trenton Office [ Court Info ]
County: Middlesex
Presiding Judge: Joel A. Pisano
Referring Judge: Tonianne J. Bongiovanni

Nature of Suit: Torts – Injury – Personal Injury- Product Liability
Cause: 28:1332
Jurisdiction: Diversity
Jury Demanded By: Plaintiff

Roy was actually the Grandaddy of the Cuppy’s debacle, as he was the founder of predecessor Java Jo’z.
Roy Snowden’s house is now valued by Zillow at $847,000, a drop of $1.5M from the asking price 2 years earlier. Actually, Zillow put the value at $1.5M 2 yrs ago.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2026-Pritchard-Point-Dr-Navarre-FL-32566/47893855_zpid/

Roy Snowden is still a guest at Club Fed in Orlando and will be until 10-22-10 for tax fraud.

ROY P SNOWDEN
57-White-M
06456-017
ORLANDO CCM

Plaintiffs: ROY P. SNOWDEN and KIMBERLY M. SNOWDEN
Defendants: JOHNSON & JOHNSON, ORTHO-MCNEIL PHARMACEUTICAL, INC. and JOHNSON & JOHNSON PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, LLC

Case Number: 3:2010cv03510
Filed: July 8, 2010

Nature of Suit: Torts – Injury – Personal Injury- Product Liability
Cause: 28:1332

Can’t argue with you there, guest. However, there are lots of comments and discussion at http://www.franchisepick.com and at http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com

Good luck to the new owner. For the sake of those that have lost thousands, I hope they offer them help and relief.
In my opinion, new branding and a fresh name would be the best move all around. Cuppy’s name has been poisoned beyond repair.

Robyn & Corey

Greg: Keep in mind that you are commenting on a year-old post and therefore may be comparing their apples to your oranges. The people commenting here signed a contract issued by Roy Snowden, the pre-Cuppy’s founder, that stated that the fees WERE refundable if the franchisee failed to secure a suitable location in one year. That the fees were refundable was not disputed… but by that time Snowden was on trial for fraud and their fees were spent… possibly furnishing his $2M house.

Greg said: Many people wanted to get rich and saw this as an opportunity without risk. There is no such thing and we knew there was risk when we paid our money.
Again, you are judging others without knowing the facts. No one saw this as an opportunity without risk. They gave $30K after signing a refundable agreement. They came back after not finding a location to find that Snowden could not keep up his contractual obligation and was going to prison for fraud.

Greg said: Instead of giving up and begging for our money back, we pushed through and now face the even more daunting task of running a business and trying to remain profitable. Without intestinal fortitude and a substantial financial reserve, we would be “out” our money too. Those without both of these attributes will not succeed at any franchise regardless of the amount of the non-refundable deposit.
I applaud your intestinal fortitude and your confidence that there is no business obstacle that a superior man cannot overcome through discipline and perseverence. Where is your location? Please share your success story and pics and we will post here and/or on http://www.FranchisePick.com. You can email pictures of your unit, grand opening, and info to me at info[at]ideafarm.net.

Again, the early JJ contracts with Snowden were refundable.

Greg said: Another clear problem with the people that want their money back is that they cannot get financing or find a lease. Niether of these issues is caused by JJ’s, so how is it that they are being held responsible for a refund to someone for that person’s lack of business wherewithal?
Greg: You’re correct. Not being able to find a site or obtain financing is not the franchisor’s – or licensor’s – fault. But why would they be entitled to keep a fee that they did not earn? That’s not a legit business arrangement. Ask the hundreds of Quiznos franchisees who were sold agreements for territories the company (allegedly) knew no sites would be available within. How did they know? Because they racked up millions of fees from all the others who had put nonrefundable deposits down on the same saturated territory.

I worked with a truckstop franchise with a $10M investment level and a $50K franchise fee. They charged a $5K site assessment fee to cover their extensive efforts and time checking out a territory and site. If it didn’t work out, they kept $5K, not the total $50K fee. Why would they?

Greg said: I am just a guy that does not like to see people avoid responsibility for their poor decisions, especially when I made the same decision work…
Congratulations on opening your franchise. I wish you the best of luck. You sound young and like a first-time business owner. It’s great that you take responsibility for your own success – critical, actually. A couple of constructive suggestions would be to hold off using yourself as a success story until you have recouped your investment and maintained solid profitability, and hold off judging others – especially when you don’t have your facts straight. Business ownership has a way of bestowing the gift of humility upon those who seem to need it most.

Another clear problem with the people that want their money back is that they cannot get financing or find a lease. Niether of these issues is caused by JJ’s, so how is it that they are being held responsible for a refund to someone for that person’s lack of business wherewithal? The observable goal of this company has been to get us financing, location, a building, product, and training so that we could open a store and begin operating. This required some input from us, but there was never any hint that they were uncooperative in getting us going. To the contrary, they were enthusiastic and helpful, if slow and disorganized. Now that we are open, the struggles of getting up at 3:30am, maintaining stock, marketing our store, attracting and keeping reliable staff, worrying 24/7, spending our savings while we strive for a real profit, and all of the other things that go with running a business help us realize that this is the hardest part of the transaction. If we had first to create a logo, design a building, find a contractor, create and buy colateral material, build an employee manual, and do all the thousands of things that JJ’s has already done and was willing to share with us for a $1 annual fee, we would still not be open. this company provided a huge headstart for us for a very reasonable fee.

Many of the arguments and complaints about JJ’s revolve around ignorance regarding the relationship. We are not franchisees, we are liscensees. There is a huge difference in meaning and in monetary terms. For example, we do not pay any royalties to JJ’s. This means that the compny will not partake in any of our revenue, large or small. For a company to continue to support our endeavors with no royalties shows good faith. Further, as liscencees, we all enjoy a great amount of independance as to how we run our businesses and what products we decide to sell. Niether of these freedoms exsist in a franchise relationship.

Like any purchase, one should consider carefully the positives and negatives that may be inherent in the transaction. Certainly, one should always read and understand all contracts before signing. One should also asses the financial risk involved in any investment of this magnitude. Investing $30K without the ability to get the additional $250K required to open and operate is a poor personal and business decision; however, it is one that is the responsibility of the individuals making it, not the company making the offer.

I am not an representative of the company, nor do I have a relative that is. I am just a guy that does not like to see people avoid responsibility for their poor decisions, especially when I made the same decision work. “What one can do, all can do”