Does All County have an obligation to advance the franchisee's share of arbitration costs?
All_County Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- 25.12.2.11.
We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to advance your share of the costs of any arbitration proceeding in order for such arbitration proceeding to take place and by doing so will not be deemed to have waived or relinquished our right to seek recovery of those costs in accordance with Article 25.9. or 25.12.4.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 43–157)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to All County's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, All County is not obligated to advance a franchisee's share of arbitration costs. However, All County reserves the right to advance the franchisee's share of these costs to facilitate the arbitration proceeding.
If All County chooses to advance these costs, it does not waive its right to seek recovery of those costs from the franchisee later, as outlined in Articles 25.9 or 25.12.4 of the franchise agreement. This means that while All County may provide initial financial assistance to enable the arbitration to proceed, the franchisee may ultimately be responsible for reimbursing those advanced funds.
This policy provides All County with the flexibility to support franchisees in pursuing arbitration while protecting its financial interests. For a prospective franchisee, this means they should be prepared to potentially bear the full costs of arbitration, even if All County initially advances their share. It is important for franchisees to understand the conditions under which All County might advance costs and the circumstances under which they would be required to repay those advances.