When a Domino 's franchise began slipping fliers beneath the doors of residential apartments without permission, Mark Leyse filed suit on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated seeking declaratory and injunctive relief based on trespass.
After the New York County Supreme Court granted Domino 's motion to dismiss the case, and imposed sanctions against Leyse, he appealed to the Appellate Division, First Department, which found that the case should have been dismissed in the absence of prior notice that Leyse objected to the fliers.
According to the AD1, that notice was required to safeguard Domino 's constitutional right of free speech.
Interestingly, the AD1 didn't believe Leyse's case was frivolous or that costs and sanctions were appropriate -- even though Leyse had been told the fliers had come from another party (a Domino 's franchisee). Since there had been no discovery, the AD1 concluded that Leyse wasn't required to accept that representation at face value.
You're welcome to take a slice out of that!
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Leyse v. Domino's Pizza LLC