Borchardt

INTRODUCTION

The central question in this case is the extent of a franchisor’s liability for the negligent actions of its franchisee. Appellants Francesca and Josephine Borchardt1 brought a claim of professional negligence against respondent Mr. Handyman International, LLC (MHI), the franchisor of Freshly Minted, Inc. (Freshly Minted). Appellants’ landlord, Joanna Ardalan, hired Freshly Minted to fix a leak and remediate mold at the house she rented to appellants. Appellants contend that Freshly Minted failed to properly perform the repairs and, in fact, made the uninhabitable conditions worse. They claim MHI, as the franchisor, is also liable for their damages. After Ardalan sued appellants for breaching their lease, appellants filed a cross-complaint against multiple parties, including Ardalan, Freshly Minted, and MHI. Their negligence claim against MHI is the subject of this appeal. After giving appellants several opportunities to amend their cross- complaint, the trial court granted MHI’s third motion for judgment on the pleadings without leave to amend, finding MHI did not owe a duty to appellants. On appeal, appellants contend they sufficiently alleged facts showing MHI…