In Beem Light Sauna arbitrations, can attorneys' fees be awarded?
Beem_Light_Sauna Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
(c) Relief. The arbitrator has the right to award or include in his or her award any relief which he or she deems proper, including money damages (with interest on unpaid amounts from the date due), specific performance, injunctive relief, and attorneys' fees (on a solicitor and its own client basis) and costs, provided that the arbitrator may declare any Mark generic or otherwise invalid or, except as expressly provided in Section 16.5 (Mutual Waiver of Punitive Damages), award any special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages against either party (we and you hereby waiving to the fullest extent permitted by law, except as expressly provided in Section 16.5 below, any right to or claim for any special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages against the other).
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 71–230)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Beem Light Sauna's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, an arbitrator in dispute resolution has the right to award attorneys' fees. The arbitrator can include in their award any relief they deem proper, including money damages with interest, specific performance, injunctive relief, and attorneys' fees. The attorneys' fees are calculated on a solicitor and its own client basis.
However, the arbitrator cannot declare any Mark generic or otherwise invalid. Additionally, the arbitrator is restricted from awarding any special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages against either party, unless expressly provided in Section 16.5, as both parties waive any right to such damages to the fullest extent permitted by law.
This means that if a Beem Light Sauna franchisee is involved in an arbitration dispute with the franchisor and prevails, they may be able to recover their attorneys' fees in addition to other remedies. However, the franchisee should be aware of the limitations on the types of damages that can be awarded in arbitration, specifically the waiver of special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages.