Under what condition can an All County franchisee voluntarily terminate the Franchise Agreement within the first 365 days?
All_County Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- 22.1.1. Voluntary Termination Within 365 Days. Within three hundred sixty five (365) days of the Effective Date of the Agreement, you may elect to notify us in writing of your voluntarily election to terminate the Franchise Agreement. You acknowledge and agree that if you elect to voluntarily terminate the Agreement under this Section, then in reasonable and sufficient consideration of our costs and expenses incurred with you prior to you electing to terminate the Agreement and in allowing your voluntary termination of the Agreement, you must assign back to us in writing all franchise and other rights that you were granted under the Agreement with no other additional amounts payable from us to you. Additionally, you and your owners agree to comply in all respects with all the posttermination provisions of the Agreement, including, without limitation, the requirement that the you and your owners agree to execute general releases, in form satisfactory to us, of any and all claims against us and our shareholders, officers, directors, employees, agents, successors and assigns. Any general release required in the Franchise Agreement as a condition of renewal, sale, and/or assignment or transfer shall not apply to any liability under the Maryland Franchise Registration and Disclosure Law.
- 22.1.2. Other Termination Only By Operation of Law. You acknowledge and agree that other than the sole termination exception identified in Article 22.2.1 above, you and your owners may not terminate this Agreement except by operation of law. Your termination of this Agreement for any other reason or without availing yourself of legal redress will be deemed a termination without cause.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 43–157)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to All County's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee can voluntarily terminate the Franchise Agreement within the first 365 days of the effective date by notifying All County in writing. However, this termination comes with specific conditions.
In order to voluntarily terminate the agreement within the first 365 days, the franchisee must assign back to All County all franchise and other rights granted under the agreement. This assignment must be in writing, and All County will not provide any additional payment to the franchisee for this reassignment. This condition is in consideration of All County's costs and expenses incurred prior to the franchisee's election to terminate the agreement.
Additionally, the franchisee and their owners must comply with all post-termination provisions outlined in the agreement. This includes executing general releases, in a form satisfactory to All County, of any and all claims against All County and its shareholders, officers, directors, employees, agents, successors, and assigns. However, any general release required in the Franchise Agreement as a condition of renewal, sale, and/or assignment or transfer shall not apply to any liability under the Maryland Franchise Registration and Disclosure Law. The FDD specifies that besides this sole termination exception, the franchisee may not terminate the agreement except by operation of law.