Can an Angry Chickz arbitration proceeding be consolidated with any other arbitration proceeding?
Angry_Chickz Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- 11.1.4 Company and Developer agree that arbitration shall be conducted on an individual, not a class-wide, basis, that only Company (and its Affiliates and Company and its respective owners, officers, directors, managers, agents and employees, as applicable) and Developer (and its Affiliates and Developer and its respective owners, officers, directors, managers, agents and employees, as applicable) may be the parties to any arbitration proceeding described in this Section, and that no such arbitration proceeding shall be consolidated with any other arbitration proceeding involving us and/or any other Entity.
Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary in this Section, if any court or arbitrator determines that all or any part of the preceding sentence is unenforceable with respect to a dispute that otherwise would be subject to arbitration under this Section, then Company and Developer agree that this arbitration clause shall not apply to that dispute and that such dispute will be resolved in a judicial proceeding in accordance with this ARTICLE 11.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 54–260)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Angry Chickz Franchise Disclosure Document, arbitration proceedings are to be conducted on an individual basis. The agreement specifies that arbitration will involve only Angry Chickz (including its affiliates, owners, officers, directors, managers, agents, and employees) and the developer (including their affiliates, owners, officers, directors, managers, agents, and employees).
Specifically, the franchise agreement states that no arbitration proceeding can be consolidated with any other arbitration proceeding involving Angry Chickz or any other entity. This means a franchisee cannot join their arbitration case with other franchisees or third parties, ensuring each dispute is handled separately.
However, there is an exception. If a court or arbitrator determines that the clause preventing consolidation is unenforceable for a particular dispute, then the arbitration clause itself will not apply to that dispute. In such cases, the dispute will be resolved through a judicial proceeding as outlined in the agreement. This provision aims to balance the preference for individual arbitration with the possibility that certain disputes may require a different resolution method if the consolidation restriction is deemed unenforceable.