Which article addresses dispute resolution for Better Blend franchisees, as referenced in this section?
Better_Blend Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
- 7. Dispute Resolution; Miscellaneous. The laws of the State of Ohio (without giving effect to its principles of conflicts of law) govern all adversarial proceedings between the parties. The parties agree that any Ohio law for the protection of franchisees or business opportunity purchasers (including the Ohio Business Opportunity Purchasers Protection Act, Ohio Rev. Code §§ 1334.01 et seq.) will not apply unless its jurisdictional requirements are met independently without reference to this Section 7. Franchisee shall not Transfer this MUDA without the prior written consent of BBF, and any Transfer without BBF's prior written consent shall be void. The provisions of Article 17 (Dispute Resolution) and Article 18 (Miscellaneous) of the Franchise Agreement apply to and are incorporated into this MUDA as if fully set forth herein.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 43–157)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Better Blend's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, Article 17 of the Franchise Agreement outlines the dispute resolution process. This article is incorporated into the Multi-Unit Development Agreement (MUDA), meaning its provisions apply to disputes arising under the MUDA as well. In addition to Article 17, Article 18 (Miscellaneous) of the Franchise Agreement also applies to and is incorporated into the MUDA.
This means that if a Better Blend franchisee has a disagreement with the franchisor related to the MUDA, they must follow the dispute resolution steps detailed in Article 17 of their Franchise Agreement. This could involve mediation, arbitration, or other methods of conflict resolution specified in that section. Franchisees should carefully review both Article 17 and Article 18 to understand their rights and obligations regarding dispute resolution under both the Franchise Agreement and the MUDA.
The FDD also states that the laws of Ohio govern all adversarial proceedings between the parties, without regard to conflict of law principles. However, Ohio law for the protection of franchisees or business opportunity purchasers will not apply unless its jurisdictional requirements are met independently. This means that while Ohio law generally applies, specific protections for franchisees under Ohio law may not automatically apply unless the franchisee independently meets the requirements for those protections.