What is the required action if a portion of the Belocal franchise agreement is determined to be invalid?
Belocal Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- E.
Severability.
Except as expressly provided to the contrary herein, each portion, section, part, term, and provision of this Agreement shall be considered severable; and if, for any reason, any portion, section, part, term, or provision is determined by a court or agency having valid jurisdiction to be invalid and contrary to, or in conflict with, any existing or future law or regulation, such determination shall not impair the operation of, or have any other effect upon, the other portions, sections, parts, terms, or provisions of this Agreement that may remain otherwise intelligible, and the latter shall continue to be given full force and effect and bind the parties; the invalid portions, sections, parts, terms, or provisions shall be deemed not to be part of this Agreement; and such portion, section, part, term, or provision as similar as possible to that which was severed shall automatically be added, which addition shall be valid and not contrary to or in conflict with any law or regulation.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 71)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Belocal's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchise agreement contains a severability clause. This means that if a court or agency with jurisdiction determines that any part of the agreement is invalid, illegal, or unenforceable due to conflict with existing or future laws, that determination will not impact the rest of the agreement.
The remaining portions of the Belocal franchise agreement that are intelligible will remain in full effect and bind both parties. The invalid sections will be removed from the agreement, and a similar provision that is valid and does not conflict with any law or regulation will be automatically added in its place.
This clause ensures that as much of the original agreement as possible remains intact and enforceable, protecting the interests of both Belocal and the franchisee. It is a fairly standard provision in franchise agreements, designed to maintain the overall intent of the contract even if specific parts are challenged and found to be invalid.