In July, 2008 Miller and Coors entered into a joint venture that created MillerCoors. In August, 2008, MillerCoors notified a number of beer and wine dealers that MillerCoors was terminating them on the ground that it was a "successor manufacturer" under the Ohio Alchoholic Beverages Franchise Act.

The automobile dealer arbitrations for GM and Chrysler are finished, and I believe they offer insight into how powerful a tool arbitration can be for franchisees (and franchisors).

Mediation is often touted as the panacea for dispute resolution.  It's not, and it suffers a bit from idol worship.  I'm a mediation evangelist myself, but it's just a tool and it has many limits.

The alarms that sound about arbitration for franchisees are nonsense.  They are built on unexamined anecdotes or examples of bad lawyering or they mistake the exception for the rule.

Congress just passed a bill to allow terminated auto dealers to arbitrate their termination under an expedited procedure.  The procedure highlights the issue of faster, cheaper, that I've been discussing.