Burger franchisee grilled by own suit.(decision on the countersuit filed against Robert Loehr by Taco Bell)

A Broward County judge recently made the rare decision that a franchisee owes a franchiser $1.1 million in attorney's fees for a lawsuit he filed against the company four years ago.

Last month, a jury determined that Richard Loehr owed Taco Bell $210,000 in counterclaims for inventory he had not paid for. That and the judge's ruling makes Loehr's debt $1.31 million.

It is not unusual for franchisers, who tend to be relatively court savvy, to win lawsuits brought against them by their franchisees, said Philip Zeidman, counsel to the International Franchise Association and senior partner with Rudnick, Wolfe, Epstein & Zeidman in Washington, D.C. It is also not …