
Practice Overview
Susan Tegt represents and counsels clients in a wide variety of commercial, contractual, franchise and distribution disputes. Susan is a seasoned trial attorney with comprehensive experience in arbitration and litigation in the state and federal district and appellate courts. Susan’s experience also includes working as in-house counsel for two national franchise brands. With Susan’s diverse range of experience, her clients trust her as both a zealous advocate and someone who will find practical and clear solutions to challenging problems.
Representative Experience
Franchise Litigation
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Misrepresentation Claims. Susan assists her franchisor clients defend against claims alleging misrepresentation in connection with sales and operation of the franchise. She also has experience working with national franchise brands to limit their exposure to such claims, from drafting compliant financial disclosures to developing internal processes to ensure compliance.
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Noncompete Agreements. Susan is routinely involved in enforcing franchise agreements’ noncompete terms against current and former franchisees who attempt to take knowledge and experience gained from franchisors and use it to operate their own competing businesses, both domestically and abroad.
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Trademark Infringement Claims. Susan is regularly involved in enforcing the global trademark rights of her franchisor clients, from protecting franchisors when a franchisee fails to de-identify a terminated unit to preventing third-parties from wrongfully using her clients trademarks.
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Consumer Class Action Claims. Susan assisted in obtaining the prompt dismissal of consumer claims seeking class certification brought by a customer of a national franchisor client.
Franchise & Distribution
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Served as as in-house corporate counsel for Self Esteem Brands, LLC, parent company of Anytime Fitness, LLC. Susan managed all legal aspects of the brand's vendor relationships, franchise sales programs, franchise registration, operations and compliance.
Business Litigation
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Susan assisted her subcontractor client obtain an award of 100 percent of its damages and 100 percent of its attorneys’ fees in a breach of contract dispute between her client and a general contractor.
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Susan routinely works with privately-held corporations and companies to resolve disputes between owners, shareholders or members, including enforcing buy-sell agreements and enforcing or defending statutory claims.
Employment Litigation
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Noncompete and Confidentiality Claims. Susan has enforced noncompete and confidentiality claims on behalf of her employer clients faced with the threat of an employee wrongfully using the employer’s proprietary information in a competitive business.
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Discrimination Claims. Susan obtained a dismissal at trial of claims of discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act against a Fortune 500 employer. She has also successfully defended a variety of employer against charges of discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
View All Related Experience
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota, 2007
- U.S. District Court, Minnesota
- U.S. District Court, Colorado
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit
Certifications
- Designated Certified Franchise Executive by the Institute of Certified Franchise Executives, 2018
Education
- Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, MN; 2007, J.D. cum laude
- University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI; 2001, B.S.
Honors
- Legal Eagle, Top Franchise Lawyers in the U.S. and Canada, Franchise Times, 2019 - present
- Best Lawyers in America®, Franchise Law, 2018 - present
- Rising Star®, Super Lawyers magazine, 2014, 2017 - present
- Top Lawyers in Minnesota,® Minnesota Monthly, 2022
Professional Associations & Memberships
- American Bar Association, Forum on Franchising
- American Bar Association
- International Franchise Association
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Hennepin County Bar Association
- Minnesota Women Lawyers