What state's laws govern the Better Blend Guaranty?
Better_Blend Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
- **5.
Governing Law; Dispute Resolution.** This Guaranty shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Ohio (without giving effect to its principles of conflicts of law).
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 5.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 43)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Better Blend's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Guaranty is governed by the laws of Ohio. Specifically, the document states that the Guaranty shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Ohio, without regard to its conflict of law principles. This means that any legal disputes related to the Guaranty will be interpreted under Ohio law.
However, the FDD also includes state-specific addenda that may modify this general rule. For example, the Illinois Rider states that Illinois law governs the agreement, and the New York Rider states that the New York Franchise Law shall govern any claim arising under that law. Similarly, the North Dakota Rider states that the Agreement (and any Guaranty Agreement) is governed by the laws of the State of North Dakota.
Therefore, prospective Better Blend franchisees should carefully review any state-specific addenda to determine if the governing law for the Guaranty is different from the general rule of Ohio law. This is particularly important for franchisees located in states like Illinois, New York, North Dakota, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Washington, which have specific provisions in their addenda that could override the general governing law provision.