When insurance giant Assurant Inc. bought CPR Cell Phone Repair in
2019, many operators in the 825-unit mobile device repair franchise were hoping for more business from their new parent. But CPR's Independent Owners Association is now suing Assurant, claiming "it changed the deal" and imposed "onerous new burdens on its franchisees, wholly to benefit itself at their expense," the lawsuit claims.
The "culminating factor" in their complaint, said outside attorney Dan Klein of Johnston Clem Gifford, is when Assurant started "directly competing with CPR franchisees," including for employees that in some cases were hired away from franchisees at higher wages to operate repair kiosks within T-Mobile device stores, the lawsuit claims.
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