How many arbitrators will conduct the arbitration for Benjamin Franklin Plumbing?
Benjamin_Franklin_Plumbing Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- 23.2.2 The arbitration will be conducted, heard and decided by one (1) arbitrator ("Arbitrator") who is mutually agreeable to the parties.
If the parties have not agreed on the Arbitrator within thirty (30) days after filing of the arbitration demand with JAMS, the Arbitrator shall be appointed in accordance with the JAMS Rules.
23.2.3 The Arbitrator shall not entertain or permit any class or consolidated proceeding.
23.2.4 The administrative fees of JAMS and the Arbitrator's fees will be split equally between Franchisor and Franchisee.
23.2.5 If either party fails to pay its share of any fee required by JAMS to proceed with administration of the arbitration, and if the other party has paid its own share of the fee, the Arbitrator shall enter a default judgment in favor of the latter party.
If an Arbitrator has not yet been appointed at the time of the nonpayment of the required fee, the party that has paid its own share of the fee shall have the option to have a default judgment entered in its favor or to proceed in court on the claims submitted to arbitration.
- 23.2.6 The Arbitrator will not have the authority to add to, delete, or modify the terms of this Agreement.
All findings, judgments, decisions and awards of the Arbitrator will be limited to the claims set forth in the arbitration demand and any counterclaims, as they may be amended, and the Arbitrator will not have the authority to decide any other claims.
The Arbitrator will have the power to decide any or all of the issues, claims and defenses presented in the arbitration through summary judgment, summary disposition, or dismissal proceedings without a full evidentiary hearing or witness testimony, as long as all parties are permitted to submit memoranda and affidavits and have oral argument, either in person or by telephone, if the Arbitrator determines that oral argument would assist in the decision making process.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 88–312)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Franchise Disclosure Document, disputes will be heard and decided by a single arbitrator. The FDD specifies that this arbitrator must be mutually agreeable to both parties involved in the dispute, which are the franchisor and the franchisee.
If both parties cannot agree on an arbitrator within 30 days after the arbitration demand is filed with JAMS (Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services), the arbitrator will be appointed according to JAMS rules. This ensures that the arbitration process can move forward even if the parties initially disagree on the choice of arbitrator.
The arbitrator's powers are limited; they cannot add to, delete, or modify the terms of the franchise agreement. Their decisions must be based solely on the claims presented in the arbitration demand and any counterclaims. The arbitrator's decision will be in writing, made within 60 days after the arbitration hearings, and will be final and binding.