SaskatchewanThe Saskatchewan Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from a Saskatoon pizza restaurant that sought to overturn a 2024 ruling ordering it to stop operating as Vern’s Pizza.Saskatoon-based company won earlier case that ordered franchisee to stop using Vern’s brandingJeremy Warren · CBC News · Posted: Nov 19, 2025 6:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Vern’s Pizza currently has four locations in Saskatoon, two in Manitoba, two in Alberta and one each in Regina, Prince Albert and Martensville. (Vern’s Pizza/Facebook)The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal delivered some good news to Vern’s Pizza, the Saskatoon-based company entangled in a decade-long legal battle with one of its franchisees.Last week, a panel of three judges dismissed an appeal from the owners of the Vern’s Pizza franchise in Saskatoon’s Sutherland neighbourhood. The franchisee sought to overturn a 2024 ruling from Saskatoon King’s Bench Court that ordered them to stop operating as Vern’s Pizza. Justice Neal Caldwell wrote the Nov. 10 appeal decision. With the appeal dismissed, the earlier ruling stands.Much of the dispute centres on an inadvertent error in the franchise agreement and whether or not the contract required the franchisee to operate one or two Vern’s Pizza locations on the east side of Saskatoon.The August 2024 King’s Bench Court decision names Tim Burns as the owner of the Vern’s Pizza brand. Brothers Wayne and Kelly Shutyr are named as co-franchisees who operated two locations, one on Eighth Street East and one on Central Avenue.Vern’s Pizza sued the Shutyrs in 2017, arguing the franchise agreement ended in 2016 when their Eighth Street location closed because the contract stipulated they had to operate two locations on the city’s east side.The franchise agreement had been in place for more than a decade before the dispute arose. The Shutyrs continued to use Vern’s Pizza trademark and branding at their remaining location in Sutherland. Vern’s Pizza could not open a second east-side location until the courts settled the dispute.Burns bought the Vern’s Pizza company from the original owner in 2000. He declined an interview when contacted by CBC News, but said he is “happy that it’s over and will finally get to serve the east side [of Saskatoon].”Vern’s Pizza currently has four locations in Saskatoon, two in Manitoba, two in Alberta and one each in Regina, Prince Albert and Martensville.The lawyer for the Shutyr brothers said they do not want to comment on the decision.The August 2024 King’s Bench Court ruling did not award damages to Vern’s Pizza, as the company continued collecting royalties from the Shutyrs’ franchise during the legal dispute.ABOUT THE AUTHORJeremy Warren is a reporter in Saskatoon. You can reach him at jeremy.warren@cbc.ca.
Court tosses appeal in Verns Pizza franchise fight
