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Atlanta-based RMH, which operates 135 Applebee’s locations in 15 states, filed for Chapter 11 re-organization bankruptcy in May. Its restaurants have continued to operate as it sought relief from its debts. Those debts included $14.2 million owed to Applebee’s International Inc. for royalty fees and advertising costs, according to bankruptcy court records.
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The settlement caps off more than six months of legal wrangling between the franchise owner and its corporate parent that included a lawsuit in which Dine Equity essentially sought to seize control of all of RMH’s Applebee’s restaurants. A judge rebuffed that effort, however.
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"We're pleased to have come to a resolution with RMH and its owners," John Cywinski, Applebee's brand president, said in a Dine Equity statement. "We remain confident and look forward to 2019."
The terms of the settlement require RMH to pay Applebee's all past-due royalty and advertising fees, Dine Equity officials said. The company will also receive, in part, reimbursement of termination fees related to restaurant closures. And as a result of the settlement, all outstanding litigation between the parties will be dismissed, the company’s statement said. RMH will retain ownership of its 135 restaurants.
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This news outlet reached out to a spokeswoman for RMH Franchise Holdings Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26, but has not yet received a response. Efforts to reach a spokeswoman for Dine Equity for additional comment beyond the company’s statement also were not successful.
But the settlement will likely ease at least some of the uncertainty about the ownership and future of Dayton-area Applebee’s restaurants among employees and customers.
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And the Applebee’s chain has been on a positive roll nationwide in recent months. Applebee's same-restaurant sales increased 7.7 percent in the third quarter, Dine Equity officials said.
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Dine Brands Global had claimed in a June lawsuit that RMH Franchise owed it a total of nearly $23.4 million in royalties and fees, and in future royalties and fees lost after RMH Franchise shut down some of the stores it operated. Those closures included the RMH-operated restaurant on Wilmington Pike restaurant in Sugarcreek Twp., which shut down June 9, 2018.
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Other RMH-operated Applebee’s restaurants are located in Huber Heights, Xenia, Springboro, Springfield, Sidney, Mason and on Ohio 741 near the Dayton Mall.
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