Is a distributor of Aunt Millies Bakeries allowed to pursue a class action against Aunt Millies Bakeries?
Aunt_Millies_Bakeries Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- §11.7 INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS. The parties agree that any proceedings to resolve or litigate any dispute in arbitration or in court, or otherwise will be conducted solely on an individual basis, and that neither DISTRIBUTOR nor AUNT MILLIIE'S will seek to have any dispute heard as a class action, a representative action, a collective action, a private attorney-general action or in any proceeding in which DISTRIBUTOR or AUNT MILLIE'S acts or proposes to act in a representative capacity. The parties agree that no arbitration or proceeding will be joined, consolidated or combined with another arbitration or proceeding without prior written consent of both DISTRIBU-TOR and AUNT MILLIE'S and all parties to any such arbitration or proceeding.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 44–196)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 FDD, Aunt Millies Bakeries' distributors are prohibited from pursuing class action lawsuits against the company. The franchise agreement explicitly states that any legal proceedings to resolve disputes must be conducted on an individual basis. This means a distributor cannot seek to have any dispute heard as part of a class action, representative action, or any proceeding where they act in a representative capacity.
Furthermore, the agreement specifies that no arbitration or proceeding can be joined, consolidated, or combined with another arbitration or proceeding without the prior written consent of both the distributor and Aunt Millies Bakeries, as well as all parties involved in any such arbitration or proceeding. This reinforces the intention to keep disputes separate and individualized.
This clause is intended to prevent large, costly, and potentially damaging class action lawsuits against Aunt Millies Bakeries. For a prospective franchisee, this means that if they have a dispute with Aunt Millies Bakeries, they must pursue it individually, bearing the full cost and effort of the legal process themselves, unless Aunt Millies Bakeries agrees to consolidate the case. This could be a significant disadvantage, as individual distributors may lack the resources to effectively challenge a large corporation like Aunt Millies Bakeries.