FRANCHISOR 101: The Importance of Arbitration Provisions

Lewitt Hackman
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Though some of the more important terms may appear early in a franchise agreement, some key terms placed near the end - the portion of the agreement that is often called "boilerplate" - may determine who wins or loses a legal fight. A franchisor that has a preference to arbitrate disputes should pay close attention to the arbitration provisions.

Courts have held provisions requiring arbitration to be enforceable time and again. In Jacobson v. Snap-on Tools Co., a franchisee claimed that a provision in his franchise agreement compelling arbitration was unenforceable because the franchisee had not read it, saying it was "hidden", and the franchisor had not called special attention to it. The court found the arbitration provision, which looked no different than the rest of the agreement, was not hidden and the franchisor had no duty to particularly point out that provision to the franchisee. The franchisor was able to compel arbitration.

But not all arbitration provisions are equal. In Meadows v. Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., two groups of plaintiffs sued their franchisor claiming fraud and franchise law violations. All the agreements signed by both groups had provisions requiring all "disputes" to be submitted to binding arbitration. Dickey's moved to compel arbitration. The franchisees claimed they should not be bound by the arbitration provisions because, in their opinions, the agreements weren't valid.

The court looked at the franchise agreements and found they were not all the same: for the first group, the definition of what had to be submitted to arbitration included disputes about validity of the agreement itself; but for the second group, "validity of the agreement" was not listed in the definition of "disputes." As a result of the discrepancy, while Dickey's had the right to compel arbitration with the first group, much more analysis and argument was needed to reach the same conclusion for the second group.

In summary: if you want arbitration, make sure you have an arbitration provision in your franchise agreement that is complete and well drafted.

Read the Motion to Dismiss or Compel Arbitration: Jacobson v. Snap-on Tools Company et al, or an Order Granting Defendant's Motion to Compel Arbitration: Meadows et al v. Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants Inc.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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