John is a Partner in Wiggin and Dana’s Litigation Department. He focuses his practice on franchise and other complex commercial disputes. Although he relishes trial work, his first concern is cost-effectively securing the ideal business solution for his client.
He has served as lead litigator for one of the nation’s leading franchisors and has successfully defended that client and others in a variety of high-stakes franchise-related litigation brought by current and former franchisees, consumers, vendors, and development agents. John’s extensive trial and arbitration experience includes successfully defending a major franchisor in arbitrations related to a multimillion-dollar contract dispute; obtaining dismissal of a RICO class action brought by a putative class of franchisees against the former owner of a franchise system; representing a nationwide distributor in a federal lawsuit, that ended in a favorable settlement, alleging that a supplier’s attempted termination of a nine-figure contractual relationship violated the Robinson-Patman Act, state distributor relationship statutes, and a state unfair trade practices statute; and defeating a motion for preliminary injunction brought on behalf of over a hundred franchisees that, if successful, had bet the company implications.
John also routinely represents clients in complex commercial and business litigation. His experience includes first chairing an international arbitration regarding patent rights granted under a settlement agreement; successfully defending in favor of a medical device manufacturer in a lawsuit alleging breach of a settlement agreement and violation of the Lanham Act; obtaining a multi-million dollar award for a refrigerant gas company in a post-closing dispute over the calculation of net working capital; representing a municipality in environmental litigation regarding the failure to properly remediate pollution at a fill pile; obtaining dismissal of a defamation suit brought against a publisher regarding a negative book review; assisting a limited liability company in pursuing millions of dollars of funds that were taken from the LLC by the widow of its past manager; and defending a company and its founder from a buyer’s post-sale fraud claims.
For a number of years, Chambers USA has recognized John in its Franchise Law – Nationwide category, where clients have praised him as “a smart and results-orientated attorney,” who is “incredibly articulate, extremely responsive and attentive to client needs.” He has been selected by the Franchise Times as a “Legal Eagle” for many years. Outside the franchise context, since 2018, he has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation, including being named a Connecticut “Future Star” and then “Litigation Star,” as well as previously being named to its Northeast region “40 & Under List.”
John writes and speaks extensively on a variety of topics, including franchise and litigation issues. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of the Franchise Law Journal and has co-authored the Connecticut chapter of the Franchise Desk Book.
John has represented clients in a number of pro bono matters, such as protecting Native American prisoners’ religious rights, seeking damages for false arrest and wrongful prosecution in federal lawsuit that has resulted in a precedential decision from the Second Circuit on the scope of qualified immunity in favor of our client, and returning children to parents in cross-border custody disputes. John is the Chair of the Wiggin Opportunity Initiative, the firm’s program to provide over $10 million dollars in free legal services to minority-owned businesses over the next ten years.
Updated Sep 2024