Thought Leadership / News
August 19, 2011 
 Press Releases
Gray Reed Delivers Jury Verdict for Jani-King

Gray Reed attorneys Ken Stone and Jonathan Hyman obtained a $350,000 jury verdict on behalf of Jani-King International, Inc. in a suit against a New York franchisee.

Following a week-long trial, the jury found the franchisee breached both the royalty payment and non-compete provisions of the parties' franchise agreement, and denied the franchisee's counterclaims.

Stone has 25 years of experience handling commercial litigation matters, for both plaintiffs and defendants, construction cases, product liability cases as well as assorted other professional negligence claims. In addition, he represents clients in cases involving issues related to malpractice and other healthcare related claims. Stone has worked with a variety of different types of healthcare providers including individual physicians, physician groups, hospitals, nursing homes and dialysis centers. 

With over 10 years of experience, Hyman has obtained favorable verdicts, judgments and settlements on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of complex business litigation matters, including cases relating to fraud, fraudulent transfer, breach of contract, UCC, DTPA, and employment contracts -- including non-competition and trade secret disputes.  In recent years, Hyman has focused on the litigation of franchisor/franchisee disputes as well as the representation of employers in employee compensation, non-competition, and trade secret disputes.

Jani-King is the world's largest commercial cleaning franchise company with over 13,000 franchise owners worldwide. Founded in 1969, the company has over 120 regional offices in 17 countries. Through a network of regional support offices, Jani-King contracts commercial cleaning services for many different facilities including healthcare, office, hotel/resort, manufacturing, restaurant, and sporting venues. The company has consistently ranked as the top performer among commercial cleaning franchise businesses.

About Gray Reed & McGraw

Founded in 1985, Gray Reed & McGraw is a full-service, Texas based law firm with more than 100 lawyers practicing in Houston, Dallas and Tyler. Gray Reed & McGraw offers a wide range of legal services including business litigation, corporate transactions, oil & gas, tax planning and litigation, real estate, healthcare, trusts and estates, employment law, family law, and bankruptcy.