Who were the third-party plaintiffs in the BankUnited Matter against Golden Corral?
Golden_Corral Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ITEM 3 LITIGATION
BANKUNITED, NA v. GC OF VINELAND, LLC, WILLIAM SCISM and KAREN SCISM, and GC OF VINELAND, LLC, WILLIAM SCISM and KAREN SCISM (Third-Party Plaintiffs) v. GOLDEN CORRAL CORPORATION, GOLDEN CORRAL FRANCHISING SYSTEMS, INC. and FIRST CHATAM BANK (Third-Party Defendants), U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Civil Action No.: 2:18-CV-12879 (EP/JRA) (the "BankUnited Matter"), third-party complaint originally filed July 16, 2018. In this action a Golden Corral franchisee and its owners were sued by a lender after defaulting on a note. The franchisee and its owners (collectively, "third-party plaintiffs" or the "Scisms") then asserted several third-party claims against Golden Corral Corporation and Golden Corral Franchising Systems, Inc. (collectively, "Golden Corral"). Most third-party claims were dismissed by way of the Court's Order dated December 4, 2019, granting the majority of Golden Corral's motion to dismiss. The thirdparty plaintiffs' breach of contract and New Jersey Franchise Practices Act claims remained, which Golden Corral answered and defended vigorously.
Golden Corral filed a separate lawsuit against the Scisms seeking payment of franchise fees of over $1 million dollars arising out of the Scisms' abandonment of the franchise.
Golden Corral and the Scisms cross-moved for summary judgment on June 20, 2023. On March 27, 2024, the Court granted Golden Corral's motion and dismissed all of the Scisms' claims against Golden Corral with prejudice, concluding that fact discovery had failed to uncover any evidence that Golden Corral had done anything wrong under either the contract between the parties or the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act. Further, the Court concluded that the Scisms had breached their contract with Golden Corral by abandoning their restaurant during the middle of the contract term. The Court awarded Golden Corral
Source: Item 3 — LITIGATION (FDD pages 9–10)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Golden Corral FDD, in the BankUnited, NA v. GC OF VINELAND, LLC matter, the third-party plaintiffs were GC OF VINELAND, LLC, WILLIAM SCISM, and KAREN SCISM. This legal action involved a Golden Corral franchisee, GC OF VINELAND, LLC, and its owners, William and Karen Scism, who were sued by a lender, BankUnited, NA, after defaulting on a note. Subsequently, the franchisee and its owners (the Scisms) filed third-party claims against Golden Corral Corporation and Golden Corral Franchising Systems, Inc.
The majority of the third-party claims asserted by the Scisms against Golden Corral were dismissed by court order on December 4, 2019. However, claims related to breach of contract and violations of the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act remained and were defended by Golden Corral. Later, Golden Corral initiated a separate lawsuit against the Scisms, seeking over $1 million in unpaid franchise fees due to the Scisms' abandonment of the franchise.
The Court granted Golden Corral's motion and dismissed all of the Scisms' claims against Golden Corral with prejudice on March 27, 2024. The court found no evidence of wrongdoing by Golden Corral under the contract or the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act. The court also concluded that the Scisms had breached their contract by abandoning their restaurant. The court awarded Golden Corral over $1.1 million in damages. The Scisms filed an appeal, but the appellate court affirmed the District Court decision in March 2025, and final judgment was entered in Golden Corral's favor for $1.1 million, closing the matter.