Is All County liable if it discontinues programs or promotions?
All_County Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
mpiled statement of monies collected and costs incurred by the Advertising Fund and furnish the statement to you upon written request.
17.2.4. Operation. We have the right to cause the Advertising Fund to be incorporated or operated through a separate entity at such time as we deem appropriate and such successor entity will have all of the rights and duties specified herein.
17.3. Proportionality. We undertake no obligation to ensure that expenditures by the Advertising Fund in or affecting any geographic area are proportionate or equivalent to the contributions to the Advertising Fund by ALL COUNTY® businesses operating in that geographic area. Nor are we under any obligation to ensure that any ALL COUNTY® business will benefit directly or in proportion to its Ad Fees paid to the Advertising Fund from the development of advertising and marketing materials or the placement of advertising. Except as expressly provided in this Article, we assume no direct or indirect liability or obligation to you with respect to collecting amounts due to, maintaining, directing, or administering the Advertising Fund.
17.4. Deferrals or Reductions. We reserve the right to defer or reduce contributions of an ALL COUNTY® business franchisee and, upon thirty (30) days' prior written n
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 43–157)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to All County's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, All County assumes no direct or indirect liability regarding the administration of the Advertising Fund, except as expressly provided in Article 17. This means that All County is generally not liable to franchisees if it chooses to discontinue or alter advertising programs or promotions funded by the Advertising Fund.
All County retains the right to defer or reduce contributions from franchisees, suspend Ad Fee payments, and even suspend or terminate the Advertising Fund itself, provided they give franchisees thirty days' prior written notice. If the Advertising Fund is terminated, any unspent monies will be distributed to franchisees in proportion to their contributions over the preceding three-month period.
This clause highlights the control All County maintains over the Advertising Fund and the limited recourse franchisees have if they disagree with All County's decisions regarding advertising and promotions. While All County endeavors to use the Advertising Fund to benefit all franchisees, there's no guarantee that every franchisee will directly benefit in proportion to their contributions, nor is All County obligated to ensure proportional expenditures in any specific geographic area.