Who are the permissible parties to any Angry Chickz 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, in the context of the Area Development Agreement, any arbitration proceeding can only include Angry Chickz (along with its affiliates, owners, officers, directors, managers, agents, and employees) and the Developer (along with its affiliates, owners, officers, directors, managers, agents, and employees). This means that arbitration is restricted to these specific parties and conducted on an individual basis, not as a class-wide action.
This clause ensures that disputes are resolved between Angry Chickz and its developers directly, without the involvement of other parties or consolidation with other arbitration cases. However, if a court or arbitrator deems any part of this restriction unenforceable, the arbitration clause will not apply, and the dispute will be resolved in a judicial proceeding.
This provision aims to control and limit the scope of potential arbitration, preventing it from becoming overly broad or complex. It also allows both Angry Chickz and the developer to seek temporary restraining orders and injunctive relief from a court, regardless of the arbitration agreement. This ensures that urgent matters can be addressed promptly through the court system.