Business

Dunkin’ eyes legal refill

An architect of Dunkin’ Donuts’ controversial strategy of strong-arming franchisees is leaving the coffee and doughnuts chain.

Dunkin’, in an e-mail yesterday to franchisees, announced that Steve Horn, the company’s longtime chief legal counsel, was stepping down to pursue new opportunities outside the company, including his passion for writing.

His departure comes after the resignation earlier this week of President and Chief Brand Officer William Kussell, who oversaw store expansion.

The resignations follow reports in The Post about Dunkin’s aggressive tactics with franchisees. Lawyers representing some store owners say the company pushes operators to pay penalties and sell their stores or face losing their franchise rights. Horn was notorious among franchise owners for pressuring them into coughing up penalties and legal fees.

A Dunkin’ spokeswoman declined to comment.

Last year, the largest association of Dunkin’ franchise owners, the DD Independent Franchise Owners, called Dunkin’ “the most litigous” franchise system in the country. From the start of 2006 to this past August, Dunkin’ was involved in 356 cases against its franchisees, most of them filed by the company.

Dunkin’ is also catching flack from store owners for pushing them to buy a surveillance system that store owners fret could be used to target them.

The chain has said store owners can opt out of buying the system, but warns they will be on the hook for covering the costs of frequent store inspections, at $350 a pop.

Nigel Travis, Dunkin’s CEO, said in the internal e-mail announcing Horn’s resignation, “We appreciate Steve’s integrity, his total dedication to the company and his many years of service.”

Private equity firms Bain Capital, Carlyle and THL Partners bought Dunkin’ in a $2.4 billion leveraged buyout in 2006.

josh.kosman@nypost.com