Counter-suing: Coffee Club’s $1m legal stoush with ex-franchisee award winners ramps up

A Queensland couple who are former Coffee Club franchisee of the year winners have told a court they want to sue after the collapse of their business.

David McManus and Carolyn McManus outside a Coffee Club. Picture: Evan Morgan

A Queensland couple who are former Coffee Club franchisee of the year winners have told a court they want to sue the franchising arm of the global coffee chain for damages for alleged personal injury they suffered after the collapse of their business.

In the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Thursday, David Anthony McManus, from the Brisbane suburb of Stretton, and Carolyn McManus from the Townsville suburb of Belgian Gardens said they were counter-suing The Coffee Club Franchising Company Pty Ltd (CCFC) for their suffering.

The couple, who are representing themselves in court, were sued in the Supreme Court for about $1m for alleged non-payment of franchise fees, rent and cafe supplies relating to six stores in North Queensland.

The Coffee Club alleges Mr and Mrs McManus - who has since remarried - are jointly and severally liable for debts for four cafes totalling $565,053.

Mrs McManus told the court that she believed CCFC “took illegal action and took seizure” of their cafes, so then she was forced to tip her companies into liquidation, affecting their 100-odd employees.

Warren Jiear, solicitor for CCFC, applied to the court for an order seeking summary judgment or to strike out parts of the McManus’ defence.

“I don’t see it is an appropriate case for summary judgment, I think we are a long way from the circumstance where I would shut them out from considering how they can reformulate their case,” Justice Declan Kelly told Mr Jiear.

The couple agreed to amend their defence so as to admit certain allegations they were currently denying.

Justice Kelly urged the couple to seek legal advice before the next hearing in December.

He ordered the McManus’ to give Mr Jiear a proposed amended defence and counter-claim by November 29.

He said their current defence pleading and counter-claim did not comply with court rules and obligations to plead material facts as to the cause of their alleged loss due to the actions of CCFC.

“No one wants to self represent themselves. It is difficult and tiresome but someone has to stop these franchise systems,” Mrs McManus told the Courier-Mail outside of court.

“Franchise systems such as The Coffee Club ... know that “Mum and Dad” operators can not fight them. Taking someone’s business of over 17 years and not paying for it is absurd,” she said.

“We will continue this fight so no other family goes through what we have had to endure,” she said outside of court.”

The couple won the company’s franchisee of the year award for Queensland and the Northern Territory three times more than a decade ago.

Originally published as Counter-suing: Coffee Club’s $1m legal stoush with ex-franchisee award winners ramps up