When does the Principal Owner's Guaranty for Augusta Lawn Care continue and is it revocable?
Augusta_Lawn_Care Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
If You are a corporation, all officers and shareholders, or, if You are a partnership, all Your general partners, or, if You are a limited liability company, all Your members, shall approve this Agreement, permit You to furnish the financial information required by Augusta Lawn Care , and agree to the restrictions placed on them including restrictions on the transferability of their interests in the franchise and the Augusta Lawn Care Business and limitations on their rights to compete, and sign separately a Guaranty, guaranteeing Your payments and performance. Where required to satisfy our standards of creditworthiness, or to secure the obligations made under this Agreement, You may be asked to sign the Guaranty. Our form of Guaranty appears as Exhibit C to this Agreement.
(f) That You remain liable for all of the obligations to Augusta Lawn Care in connection with the Augusta Lawn Care Business which arose prior to the effective date of the transfer and execute any and all instruments reasonably requested by Augusta Lawn Care to evidence such liability;
(e) That (1) at Augusta Lawn Care's option, (a) the transferee (and, if the transferee is other than an individual, such owners of a beneficial interest in the transferee as Augusta Lawn Care may request) enter into a written assignment, in a form satisfactory to Augusta Lawn Care, assuming and agreeing to discharge all of Your obligations under this Agreement, or (b) the transferee(s) execute, for a term ending on the expiration date of this Agreement and with such renewal term(s) as may be provided by this Agreement, the Augusta Lawn Care's then-current form of franchise agreement and other ancillary agreements as Franchisor may require for the Augusta Lawn Care Business, which agreements shall supersede this Agreement in all respects, and the terms of which may differ from the terms of this Agreement, including, without limitation, higher royalty fees, advertising contributions, or other fees, and a smaller or modified Territory, except that the transferee shall not be required to pay any initial franchise fee; and (2) the transferee's principal guaranty the performance of all such obligations in writing in a form satisfactory to Augusta Lawn Care;
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 44–184)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Augusta Lawn Care FDD, if the franchisee is a corporation, all officers and shareholders must sign a Guaranty, guaranteeing the franchisee's payments and performance. Similarly, if the franchisee is a partnership, all general partners must sign a Guaranty, and if a limited liability company, all members must do the same. The FDD states that this Guaranty is required to satisfy Augusta Lawn Care's standards of creditworthiness or to secure the obligations made under the Franchise Agreement.
The obligations under the Guaranty continue even if the franchise is transferred. Specifically, if the franchisee transfers the Augusta Lawn Care business, they remain liable for all obligations to Augusta Lawn Care that arose prior to the effective date of the transfer. The franchisee must also execute any instruments reasonably requested by Augusta Lawn Care to evidence this continued liability. Additionally, at Augusta Lawn Care's option, the transferee may be required to have their principal guaranty the performance of all such obligations in writing in a form satisfactory to Augusta Lawn Care.
The excerpt does not explicitly state whether the Guaranty is revocable. For clarification, a prospective franchisee should directly ask Augusta Lawn Care about the terms of the Guaranty, specifically whether it can be revoked under any circumstances and what conditions might apply.