In All Team franchise arbitrations, are parties allowed to consolidate arbitration proceedings with those of a third party?

According to All Team's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the arbitration proceedings will be conducted on an individual basis, not a class-wide basis. The agreement explicitly states that neither party involved in the arbitration, whether it be All Team or the franchisee, has the right to consolidate their arbitration proceedings with those of any third party.

Furthermore, the document specifies that the arbitrator or any court is not authorized or empowered to order a consolidation of proceedings involving any third party. This clause ensures that each arbitration remains separate and focused solely on the dispute between All Team and the individual franchisee, preventing the entanglement of multiple disputes into a single proceeding.

This policy is relatively common in franchising, as franchisors typically want to avoid complex, multi-party arbitrations. For a prospective All Team franchisee, this means that any dispute they have with the franchisor will be handled individually, without the possibility of joining forces with other franchisees in a consolidated arbitration. This could potentially increase the cost and complexity for a franchisee pursuing a claim, as they will bear the full burden of their legal expenses without the ability to share resources or strategies with other franchisees.